History Main / WhyDidItHAveToBeSnakes

This is common in horror/sci-fi stories dealing with a "master of fear" (such as [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy]], [[Literature/{{It}} Pennywise]], or [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Scarecrow]]), in which the monster [[IKnowWhatYouFear uses his powers to guess his victim's worst fear]], and then use it against him/her to make them a [[CowerPower quivering heap]]. Enemies who know about this weakness are prone to use FlawExploitation and as [[WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk a way of coercing the hero]]. It can also overlap with TheDreaded. If an innocuous object causes fear that renders someone helpless, it may overlap with WeaksauceWeakness.

A subset of FatalFlaw. FearOfThunder (also known as brontophobia), SpidersAreScary [http://www.fearof.net/fear-of-spiders-phobia-arachnophobia (arachnophobia)], {{Claustrophobia}}, AfraidOfBlood (hemophobia), AfraidOfDoctors (iatrophobia), and AfraidOfNeedles (trypanophobia) are specific sub-tropes of this.

A subset of FatalFlaw. FearOfThunder (also known as brontophobia), SpidersAreScary (arachnophobia)[http://www.fearof.net/fear-of-spiders-phobia-arachnophobia], {{Claustrophobia}}, AfraidOfBlood (hemophobia), AfraidOfDoctors (iatrophobia), and AfraidOfNeedles (trypanophobia) are specific sub-tropes of this.

A subset of FatalFlaw. FearOfThunder (also known as brontophobia), SpidersAreScary (arachnophobia), {{Claustrophobia}}, AfraidOfBlood (hemophobia), AfraidOfDoctors (iatrophobia), and AfraidOfNeedles (trypanophobia) are specific sub-tropes of this.

This is common in horror/sci-fi stories dealing with a "master of fear" (such as [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy]], [[Literature/{{It}} Pennywise]], or [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Scarecrow]]), in which the monster uses his powers to guess his victim's worst fear, and then use it against him/her to make them a [[CowerPower quivering heap]]. Enemies who know about this weakness are prone to use FlawExploitation and as [[WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk a way of coercing the hero]]. It can also overlap with TheDreaded. If an innocuous object causes fear that renders someone helpless, it may overlap with WeaksauceWeakness.

A subset of FatalFlaw. FearOfThunder (also known as brontophobia), SpidersAreScary (arachnophobia), {{Claustrophobia}}, AfraidOfDoctors (iatrophobia), and AfraidOfNeedles (trypanophobia) are specific sub-tropes of this.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Snakes (ophidiophobia), Reptiles (herpetophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Motoko Aoyama from ''Manga/LoveHina'' is afraid of turtles. So her fellow tenants adopt one that can ''fly''.
* Bachou Mouki from ''Manga/{{Ikkitousen}}'' is deathly afraid of snakes.
* Ymir from ''Anime/QueensBlade'' can't stand snakes. When she met [[FeatherBoaConstrictor Echidna]], she spent the following night sitting up, axe in hand, convinced the snakes would come when she slept.
* Yura of the miniseries ''Wasted Minds'' is afraid of snakes. At one point, when she sees something she thinks is a boa constrictor, she's too scared to help her partner, Tamuro, out of its grasp. After she discovers that "the snake" is actually the trunk of an aggressive elephant, she fearlessly [[SuperStrength flips it over and slams it into the ground]].
--> '''Yura:''' Boa constrictor!
--> '''Tamuro:'''There aren't any boa constrictors in Japan! Help me!
--> '''Yura:''' I hate snakes!
* In the {{Pokemon}} manga (loosely based off the anime) ''TheElectricTaleOfPikachu'', [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Potter Iwakaze]], a BadAss who can run across water and fight Gyarados (himself, without Pokemon) has trouble when Musashi summons Arbok, as he's afraid of snakes.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* During the "Comicbook/{{Knightfall}}" saga of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'', the mayor of Gotham is revealed to have this fear (as revealed by Scarecrow's fear toxin). Joker, who is partnered up with Scarecrow, naturally exploits this for all it's worth by terrifying the mayor with a baby rattle (to remind him of rattlesnakes).
* [[GossipyHens Susanita]] from ''ComicStrip/{{Mafalda}}'' is terrified of turtles. Unfortunately, her best friend [[LittleMissSnarker Mafalda]] is unaware of her phobia and invites Susanita to her house just to show her the family's new pet turtle, [[MeaningfulName Burocracia]]. Cue Susanita cowering in a corner.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Franchise/IndianaJones (snakes), [[TropeNamers who coined the trope's name]]. He wasn't always afraid of snakes. As ''Last Crusade'' showed, his fear came from when he fell into a circus train car that was full of them, and they weren't particularly nice snakes either. The [[RunningGag "constantly running into them"]] part is relatively {{justified|Trope}} considering where he works. (amusingly, HarrisonFord doesn't bother with them at all)
** One episode of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' parodies Indy's fear. When Kim arrives in a spiked pit while searching an abandoned underground temple, she jokingly asks, "Where are the snakes?" When hundreds suddenly appear, she retorts, "[[IWasJustJoking I was just being sarcastic!]]"
** Also parodied in at least one ''Franchise/TombRaider'' comic. "I met this man once who would have been a good archaeologist, but he just couldn't get over his fear of snakes..."
** Launchpad also parodies it in the FiveEpisodePilot of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'': "Yah, a snake! I hate snakes! No... that's somebody else. I sorta like snakes." Then one nearly ''eats'' him: "'''Now''' I hate snakes."
* Pee Wee Herman (snakes), at least in ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'', when he rescues them last from a burning pet shop.
* The FBI agent who's '''not''' Creator/SamuelLJackson from ''Film/SnakesOnAPlane'' has ophidiphobia.
* In ''Series/{{Jackass}}: Number Two'', the gang does a bit where they trap Bam Margera in the back of a trailer with a (devenomized) king cobra. HilarityEnsues when Bam goes apeshit and actually starts crying.
** It gets worse in Jackass 3D: They set Bam up to do a prank... but are really sending him directly into a trap door that leads into a pit full of rubber snakes. Bam flips his shit. Then they add in REAL snakes, including a giant yellow one, and he proceeds to frantically hold on to the side of the pit, trying to pull himself out.
* ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' star SalmaHayek has a real fear of snakes, and had always refused to be near them. When she read the script, she knew that her phobia would prevent her from taking the part of Satanico Pandemonium, but Creator/RobertRodriguez conned her into thinking that Madonna was ready to take the part instead, so she spent two months with therapists in order to overcome this fear.
* In ''[[TheMysteriousIsland Journey 2 The Mysterious Island]]'', Hank offers a ShoutOut to Indiana Jones by saying "why did it have to be lizards? Why couldn't it be snakes?" when he runs into a giant lizard.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Snakes (especially the enormous constrictors that always crop up in Creator/RobertEHoward's stories) are the only thing that Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian is afraid of, besides some displays of sorcery. The ancient god Set, the embodiment of evil in Howard's stories, is represented as a serpent.
** The Conan RPG system has the spell "Dance of the Cobras", which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Cobras are hypnotized to circle a person, doing damage each round until the victim either dies from the damage or kills all four of the cobras, which are specified as ''at least'' Medium size. The spell comes from the Conan story "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula," which had EvilSorcerer Totrasmek doing this to the {{Love Interest|s}} Zabibi, who is forced to dance for her life against the snakes.
* Rincewind in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novels is afraid of almost everything, but ends up sent to the SnakePit after he accidentally reveals to the EvilChancellor that he "doesn't like snakes very much." Being Rincewind, he tries to cover up with "Well, I mean, ''some'' snakes are okay..."
** Also, the SnakePit was the only functional torture device at the moment in Al-Khali, despite the vizier being...well, [[EvilChancellor what he is]]. And by functioning, we mean it contained ''one'' snake, who behaved much more like a RealLife animal and simply avoided Rincewind.
* Kahlan, the primary female character of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'', hates snakes. She becomes highly nervous and uneasy when Richard mentions he saw snakes in the water, later has nightmares about a large snake wrapping around her legs. Her aversion to snakes is mentioned several times again over the course of the series. This is a fairly common syndrome among female characters from this series.
* Josh Newman from ''TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'' is revealed to be afraid of snakes. He lampshades it in ''The Sorceress'' - "Snakes! Why is there always snakes?" He even ''says'' the trope name in ''The Magician''.
* Hank the Cowdog from the [[Literature/HankTheCowdog series of the same name]] can face bobcats, coyotes, mad bulls, and wild horses (although he'd much rather not). Snakes are the only thing he's specifically named as terrifying him.
* Silk, from the Literature/{{Belgariad}} is a victim of this. He also has a fear of caves.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Flabber showed it once in ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}''.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Cops}}'' showed two policemen afraid to respond to a call from a resident who found a snake in his closet. The guy from animal control, on the other hand, had snake tattoos and couldn't believe the resident didn't want to keep such a pretty snake.
* Terrorist Kelly Peyton on ''Series/{{Alias}}'' is terrified of snakes and only gives important information to the CIA under interrogation when they threaten her with one.
* On ''Series/HomeImprovement'' Tim becomes agitated when he learns that a harmless garden snake is somewhere in his house.
* Murdoc from ''Series/MacGyver''.
* Eiji of ''KamenRiderOOO'' mistaken the Eel Can-droids as snakes on first glance.
* Wayne of ''Swamp Loggers'' expresses great unease about snakes. One could wonder about his choice of job.
* An early episode of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' saw Malloy and Reed approach every white 1958 Ford convertible with trepidation ... since a stolen boa constrictor might be hidden in the trunk of one of them.
* On an episode of ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', Rudy is terrified when she discovers a snake in the basement. After her parents assure her they'll take care of it and she leaves the room, Claire panics, showing she's even ''more'' afraid of them.
* Subverted with Agent Scully on ''Series/TheXFiles''. In "One Breath", her mother tells a story how she felt guilty for shooting a snake with her new BB gun. Although deathly afraid of snakes, she held the snake and it died in her hands, which is very weird as people with this phobia are grossed out with only pictures of snakes. When Mulder and Scully investigate cases involving snakes, she isn't exactly on edge ("Die Hand die Verletzt") and she even gets a tattoo of a snake eating its own tail in "Never Again". On the other hand, there are lots of snakes in "Signs and Wonders", but even Mulder who doesn't suffer from this phobia is very nervous around them.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* Former Music/HelloProject member Yoshizawa Hitomi is afraid of snakes, even rubber ones.
* Music/JohnnyCash also feared snakes.

[[AC:NewspaperComics]]
* Linus van Pelt of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' is afraid of snakes. Or, more particularly, of ''queen'' snakes. (He has also mentioned "night snakes" and "rock snakes", along with other strange animals that he probably imagined, like "gully cats".)

[[AC:Pro Wrestling]]
* Savage wrestler Wrestling/{{Kamala}} was also afraid of snakes which was quite a problem when he was feuding with [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], who is so ''un''afraid of snakes that he carries around a rather large one.
* Roberts also exploited such a fear felt by Wrestling/AndreTheGiant during their feud.

[[AC:Stand-up Comedy]]
* Creator/BillEngvall has stated in his comedy routines that he hates snakes.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* The Spelunker from ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', being kind of an Indiana Jones {{expy}} hates snakes, too. Doesn't really seem to stop him, though.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has a shout out in the form of an NPC with a strong fear of snakes who's named Harrison Jones, which takes Indy's last name and his actor's first name.
* The last line of a journal entry in ''Vesuvia'' that mentioned the discovery of a charred snakeskin was "Snakes - anything but snakes..."
* Gemini Man from ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' hates snakes. Not surprisingly, he takes massive damage from Snake Man's Search Snakes.
* A certain side quest in ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' involves retrieving some baby turtles from the work shed of a hobbit named Grobo Dogwood who just so happens to be deathly afraid of turtles. When you go to pick up the little suckers, each and every one is called "Grobo Dogwood's Greatest Fear."


[[AC:WebComics]]
* Toshubi in ''WebComic/BladeOfToshubi'' [[http://www.drunkduck.com/Blade_of_Toshubi/5212583/ hates snakes!]] Although considering the size difference, who can blame him?
* The Barbarian character in ''Webcomic/{{Weregeek}}'' [[http://www.weregeek.com/2010/02/15/ added it to his background]]. Why Did It Have To Be Snakes? Because a DM ALWAYS uses the character's background against them.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* [[Blog/TheTyrannosaurChronicles Traumador]] fears Ankylosaurs the most... despite being a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has Tucker performing a ShoutOut to ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' by shouting the trope's name when multiple snakes appeared caused by Pandora's Box.
* Leonardo of ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}''. He ''is'' a turtle...
* ''WesternAnimation/{{American Dragon|JakeLong}}'' episode "Bring It On", Jake uses these words verbatim.
* Twilight Sparkle from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is terrified of snakes, as shown in "Winter Wrap-Up".
* Yar, the lemur chief from ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}'' apparently has a huge fear of dinosaurs. He eventually gets over it after a newly-hatched Aladar pees in his face.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'', Roger is afraid of snakes.
* WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} has three great fears. Two of them are alligators and crocodiles, to the point where he has memorized every single fatal alligator and crocodile attack in the United States. He ''would'' have memorized the ones in China, but their records are spottier.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spiders (arachnophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* In the manga version of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'', [[spoiler: Jirou Kimura was scared to death of spiders. He went apeshit and committed suicide after his boss [[AssholeVictim Komori Akamune]], who couldn't stand his arrogance, locked him for hours in a room full of them.]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* In the ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' comics, DoctorOctopus once received such a beatdown as to develop this phobia. He had to be talked out of it in order to help Spidey with the current crisis.
* ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} was terrified of spiders early in the comic strips run. In later strips, he hates them more than he's scared of them, swatting them without even thinking.

[[AC:Fanworks]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/53295/arachnophobia Arachnophobia]], ''[[GodEmperor Princess]]'' ''[[PhysicalGod Celestia]]'' has an intense fear of spiders. The plot is kicked off when Luna, following Celestia's advice to adopt a pet, brings home a huge spider whom she names Atticus. And just when Celestia is starting to adjust to Atticus' presence, [[spoiler:his even ''bigger'' mate appears and freaks her out all over again.]]
* Mariko Aratani from ''Fanfic/HolidayVacation'' and ''Fanfic/LuckyStarAfterStory'' is absolutely ''terrified'' of spiders. In fact, in during a flashback in Chapter 24 of After Story, she got so scared when one passed her on a tree that she stepped on a broken branch, fell to the ground. and ended up breaking her arm.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* The protagonist of ''Film/{{Arachnophobia}}'', a doctor who moves his family to a small town to escape the dangers of big-city life, only to come up against an invasion of deadly hybrid jungle spiders.
* "Arachnophobia" can also refer to fear of scorpions, like Mutt from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''.
* Ichabod Crane in ''Film/SleepyHollow'' can handle grisly autopsies... but sees a (admittedly large) spider in his room and leaps onto a chair, yelling, "Kill it! No, stomp it!"
* Jovanovich, the big tough mob leader in ''Film/Jungle2Jungle'', freaks out when he sees a big spider on his head in the mirror, even shouting, "I hate spiders!".
* James Bond has an understandably harsh reaction to a tarantula that climbed up his legs (while he was in bed) then across his shoulder. 007. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUqlfX1YJnk Licence to smash.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* All children of Athena in the ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' books are arachnophobic, due to enmity between Athena and Arachne (the first spider).
** It's revealed in ''The Mark of Athena'' that when Annabeth (the main child of Athena) was younger, spiders used to swarm her when she slept and then scurry away so her father and stepmother wouldn't believe her. So it's not just a hereditary trait.
* Ron Weasley of the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series is deathly afraid of spiders, due to his brothers transmogrifying his teddy bear into a massive spider for a joke when he was much younger. During ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', he and Harry end up having to "follow the spiders" into the Forbidden Forest. In the [[Film/HarryPotter movie version]], Ron quips "Why spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?"
** In a fortuitous bit of casting, RupertGrint, who plays Ron in the movies, is ''also'' deathly afraid of spiders. All of "Ron"'s expressions of fear in the movies are [[EnforcedMethodActing actually those of Rupert]], since, according to the DVD special features, Aragog was animatronic. (Aragog's children, however, were CGI.)
* "Ayatollah", the crime boss in Boris Strugatsky's ''Literature/ThePowerlessOfThisWorld'', fears nothing except members of the class Arachnida. Unfortunately for him, one of the friends of his victim is commonly known as "Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies" for his amazing ability to control insects and spiders...
* {{Giant spider}}s show up a lot in Tolkien's works, especially in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Among all other creatures in Middle-earth, nothing strikes more fear in the characters -- especially the hobbits -- than spiders (except for maybe the Balrog, which only scared the characters who knew what it was). Some people believe this stems from Tolkien having been bitten by a tarantula as a very small child, but he adamantly denied this in life.
** The annotated edition of ''The Hobbit'' has a quote from Tolkien, in which he claims that he put the spiders in because he knew his son was terrified of them.
** Creator/PeterJackson also shared this fear, which he used during the film version of ''The Return of the King'' to make the scenes with Shelob as nightmarish as possible. He told the people in charge of CGI for the scene to keep enhancing things "until [he] couldn't stand it."

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Dr. Camille Saroyan on ''Series/{{Bones}}'' freaks out briefly when a swarm of baby spiders start emerging from a crack in a block of clay that the skeleton-of-the-week is embedded in.
* In ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', Piper is afraid of tarantulas. This tends to come up whenever recurring villain Barbas (the demon of fear) puts his hand in...
* Barney from ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' ran out of the room in a panic when Robin spotted a spider on the floor in one episode.
* Hal from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' in one episode an animal trainer uses him as a volunteer, he ends up using a tarantula Hal is terrified it ends up biting him because he spooked it.
* Zack the Black Ranger from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''.
* Adam Savage of ''Series/MythBusters'' although in the ''Ultimate [=MythBuster=]'' special, Adam said his experience in the "Daddy Long-Legs" myth (arm stuck in a tube of spiders until one finally bit him) had gotten him over this fear.
** Grant Imahara is also arachnophobic. And he gets the same type of "treatment" that Adam got...
* Shane the Red Ranger from ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm''. First mentioned by Tori to prove it's really her and not her evil clone, it turns up later in a surprisingly subtle fashion - a flashback of kid-Shane rescuing [[spoiler: an alien ball of light]] from a spider-web.
* Budnick in ''SaluteYourShorts''.
* Chief O'Brien once admitted to a fear of spiders in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. He not only got over it in time, he actually kept a pet tarantula. Presumably Keiko told him to leave it behind when they moved to Deep Space Nine.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Ryoh from ''{{Warbears}}'', to the point where he climbs out of a window and across a ledge, then through another window to avoid a spider.
* Ryu of ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', after waking up with a spider in his mouth once, has an intense dislike of spiders.
* Ryo Sakazaki from ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' and ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters''. It was a prank from his friend Robert (putting a spider in his mouth while he was sleeping) that caused it.
* Artur from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones''. His best friend Lute once tried to help him... by placing spiders on his face when he was sleeping. [[StrangeGirl Yep, Lute is special]].
* Apparently Matt "Positron" Miller, current lead developer of ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', is afraid of spiders in addition to clowns (see below). When [[CityOfVillains half of the game is jam-packed with them]], you gotta wonder...
* Various spirits from ''GhostMaster'' specialize in exploiting certain fears; one of them in a giant spider.
* One of the quests that you can do in Stormreach Harbor in ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'' involves a guy named Berne Jorn who's been afraid of spiders ever since he was a kid. The quest he sends you on, which is called "Arachnophobia," has you clearing the eight-legged bastards (including a huge boss-level one) out of his family crypt.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' have [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/595-596_9853.png Joltik and Galvantula]], who have Unnerve as one of their abilities. Said ability makes the opponent afraid and unable to use berries. How '''[[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Joltik]]''' has this is anyone's guess...
** Maybe it's channeling [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey]]?
* ''VideoGame/{{Toonstruck}}'''s Drew Blank exclaims "Spiders! Why did it have to be spiders?" upon seeing a couple of them crawling on the wall.
* Bounder Boffin of ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' is terrified of spiders, which you have to kill during the introductory instance for Hobbits in order to help him cut through Old Odo's Leaf-farm to escape a Black Rider.
* Farkas, an otherwise fearless warrior in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', at one point refuses to go any further in a dungeon after encountering giant spiders there.
* Tali in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series is apparently afraid of spiders, judging by her reaction to the Gestation Pods hatching if you should take her along on Grunt's mission in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''.
** Justified in that not only does her home planet not have insect life of any kind (therefore presumably no spiders either), she and her people have lived on ships all their lives, and have had no real contact with anything that crawls or scuttles.
*** It's speculated that arachnophobia in humans is partially due to the perception that they're associated with filth and neglect. Quarians evolved without analogues to insects, but they also spread to some other planets, and vermin hitchhiking is certainly something that could have happened and would cause them distress.
** Garrus also dislikes spiders, though to a lesser extent.
--> "If I ''never'' see another spider again, I'll die a contented turian. Unless they have spiders in the afterlife. ''[[Funny/MassEffect Damn]]''."
* Wilson from ''VideoGame/DontStarve'' hates spiders.

[[AC:Web Comics]]
* [[AxCrazy Butch]] from ''Webcomic/ChoppingBlock''. [[http://choppingblock.keenspot.com/d/20101206.html Yes]].
* [[http://exterminatusnow.comicgenesis.com/d/20041015.html Eastwood]] of ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow''. Both the character and the author whom he's [[AuthorAvatar based on]]. His fear is [[http://exterminatusnow.comicgenesis.com/d/20070928.html easily dispelled]] by access to HumongousMecha. Or if someone turns him in the right direction [[http://exterminatusnow.comicgenesis.com/d/20041126.html and presses]] his BerserkButton.
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' - Neither Agatha nor Gilgamesh want to [[AllWebbedUp rescue Zola]] from the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090729 "Nyar" spider]], and it's not from annoyance with her setting off every trap available in the previous page. Even though one day earlier Gil alone defeated a ''mechanized army'' and she's getting ready to do much the same.
-->'''Gil:''' ''That'' was a ''small army''. ''This'' is a ''big spider!''
* Shelly from ''WebComic/WapsiSquare'' is generally very tough and more than willing to take on a mugger with a knife. However, show her a [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/its-huge/ single spider]] and she'll be screaming for help.
* As seen in [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/08/04/episode-064-the-poor-sap-falls-for-it-every-time/ this]] early ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'' strip, spiders freak Fighter out. So you can just imagine what's going through his mind when [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/04/26/episode-277-oh-thats-not-good/ this]] happens later on.

[[AC: Web Original]]
* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic. He once saw a spider on his desk and chucked it so hard the window broke.
* Simon (Honeydew) of the LetsPlay/Yogscast makes his feelings about spiders quite clear, and squeals in hysterical fear whenever one appears in a game he and Lewis are playing. He'll quickly get over it, until another one ambushes him.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', Elisa's mom, Diana, was faced with the spider god Anansi and his minions, causing her to say "Spiders! Why did it have to be spiders?"
* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' Arnold's parents, who are homages to Indiana Jones, both have a fear of spiders.
* Norman from ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax''. There is a possible nod to this in the introduction, where every encounter Max faces in the introduction is handled by Norman. The only encounter Max directly deals with himself is the large spider. This is at least partly to do with [[spoiler:a prophecy that a spider would kill him, which happens in one of the final episodes. If you knew that was going to happen, wouldn't ''you'' be antsy around arachnids?]]
* Salem on ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' faced a spider and nervously said, "[[AffectionateParody Why couldn't it be snakes? I like snakes.]]" But the desperate situation lent him the courage to shred the web and make the spider fall.
* Optimus Prime of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', though given [[TransformationTrauma what happened to Elita-1]], it's not exactly an irrational fear.
** Due to the same incident, Sentinel Prime became terrified of ''all'' things organic. He eventually got over it at least enough to leave the spaceship.
** [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Miko]] would probably get along with Optimus rather well, then.
* Mike of ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'' is afraid of spiders. Taken into comedic effect in "Giant Steps", where she runs screaming at the sight of a baby spider (complete with pacifier).

[[AC:Real Life]]
* Arachnophobia is commonly listed as the second most common phobia among humans, second only to [[PerformanceAnxiety Fear of Public Speaking]].
* Creator/SeanConnery. In the scene in ''Film/DrNo'' [[AnimalAssassin where a tarantula]] crawls on Film/JamesBond, the leg you see belongs to a stuntman, and when it crawls past his head, there is a glass plate between him and the spider.
* Most Steve Irwin fans found it simply hilarious that Steve could wrestle crocs, get unbearably close to cougars and bears, and handle venomous snakes, but he squirms like a little girl when a harmless spider crawls towards him.
* British comedian Phill Jupitus is terrified of spiders -- and irate about people who aren't afraid of spiders and use this fact to torment him.
* Creator/StephenKing, not surprisingly, given the tendency of his {{Big Bad}}s to [[OneWingedAngel turn into]] {{Giant Spider}}s.
* According to cast interviews, Jacqueline [=McKenzie=] from ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'' is afraid of spiders. Joel Gretsch responded with a series of [[JerkAss increasingly]] [[DudeNotFunny unfunny pranks]].
* Music/TaylorSwift. She freaked out on the way to film a scene for the "Love Story," music video because there was a spider on her dress.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Insects (entomophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Miyabi Kagurazaki of ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'' is a tough, all-business OfficeLady / HaremNanny capable of hurling [[MamaBear anyone who]] threatens "Lady Aoi" across the room. She completely loses composure in the presence of bugs, especially roaches. Unfortunately, WeaselMascot Uzume has the cat-like tendency to kill bugs and [[HilarityEnsues bring them as a gift]].
* Yomi of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' cannot stand cicadas. Naturally, [[{{Jerkass}} Tomo]] takes an opportunity to [[http://manga.animea.net/azumanga-daioh-hoshuu-hen-chapter-3-page-4.html plant one on the back of her shirt.]]
** Sakaki is also revealed to be scared of horseflies, among other things (See the "Various" category below).
* A plot point in a ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' case. RichBitch Hiromi Yamazaki is completely terrified of bees due to being allergic to their sting (and she almost died when stung by one as a little girl)... [[spoiler: and the person who killed her is GenreSavvy enough to actually use bees as one of their "killer weapons". More exactly, they caused her to panic at the sight of some bees released in the highest floor of her BigFancyHouse, then covered the door handle in honey so there would be ''more'' bees there, and when Hiromi leaned on a wooden rail... the rail was "broken", [[DeathByFallingOver causing her to fall to her death]].]]
* ''Manga/FrankenFran'': Adorea is scared of cockroaches, and had quite the reaction when she and Okita happened to walk into a room that was full of them. From the same chapter, a young woman who is [[NeatFreak obsessed with cleanliness]] freaks out when a cockroach falls into her tea.
* Tokine, in ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}'', she is the more experienced, much smarter of the two kekkaishi, tough as nails and able to handle anything....except cockroaches. She definitely hates those cockroaches.
* [[RobotGirl Nano]] in ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'' is scared to death of cockroaches. In one sketch she has one trapped under a bowl and would rather tape the bowl to the table and throw the table itself out than risk it getting free. She also faints at the sight of a mosquito (which she herself killed).
* Perona from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is absolutely ''terrified'' of cockroaches. It only took Usopp a bunch of fake ones to make her flip her shit.
** It's not really surprising that Oda made [[TheChick Nami]] afraid of bugs as well, but [[ChefOfIron Sanji]]? He's just as terrified.
* Misty of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has three things that she hates most of all and bugs are one of them, as exhibited when Ash catches a Caterpie in one of the first episodes of the show and Misty cannot stand being near it (though she's less repulsed by the prettier bugs like Butterfree and Ledian). This is exhibited many times in the show, like during the episode with the Bug Catching Contest where she freaks out whenever a wild Bug Pokemon even comes close to her. Encounters with Ghost Pokemon also give her nightmares, a typical side effect of that type.
* The English dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' gives Yusei Fudo a fear of bugs in Episode 2. This gave them some potential 40 episodes later, when his opponent had a deck full of spiders, including one [[GiantSpider really big]] [[EldritchAbomination plot-related]] one. It's a mystery how [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment they]] didn't realize that ''[[BadAss Yusei]]'' being scared of something like bugs is just... laughable.
** If someone like Indiana Jones can have a phobia, then it makes sense that other people who are as tough as he is can have them.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* Comicbook/AtomicRobo's fear of bugs is not irrational. Oh no. Fearing icky, evil things that can crawl into your body and die and get their sticky bug guts all over your insides and make you gross forever is ''completely logical!''

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Continuing on the Indiana Jones theme, Willie Scott from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' has no problem around snakes, but once she discovers she's walking through a room covered in insects and other related critters, she practically freaks out. And she needed to cross the room in order to save Indy and Shorty from a DescendingCeiling. [[spoiler: After much complaining, she does.]]
* When descending into the tomb in ''{{Film/The Mummy|Trilogy}}'', Warden Hassan says "Watch for bugs. I HATE bugs." Boy is HE in the wrong movie... Aaand then he gets killed by a scarab beetle. [[DeathByMaterialism Disguised as a piece of wall jewelry]].
* Zen from ''Film/{{Chocolate}}'' goes into a screaming panic when exposed to flies. She's autistic, so she can't actually repress that reaction. It causes a lot of trouble for her when one of her targets turns out to be a butcher with ''extremely'' poor sanitation.
* [[Creator/MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]] as Captain Spaulding in ''Theatre/AnimalCrackers''. After bragging about how brave he is, another character points out a caterpillar on his jacket and he immediately faints. The next Marx film, ''MonkeyBusiness'', has him brag that he's "whipped his weight in wild caterpillars", however, so this trait didn't carry between "characters".

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Nicci of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' suffers from a fear of lice (pediculophobia), as a result of being repeatedly infested with them during her childhood in the Old World. Upon seeing a young girl who has a lice problem, she forcibly cuts the girl's hair and washes her head, then instructs her to burn her clothing and bedding.
* Private detective Bobby Dakota, in Creator/DeanKoontz's ''The Bad Place'', fears insects of all kinds.
* The Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse gives us the Literature/DarkNestTrilogy, about...bugs from Alderaan. If you're around these bugs for a long enough time, you join their hive mind. Han and Leia's daughter Jaina, her boyfriend Zekk, and Luke's son Ben do so. [[ActorAllusion Han Solo]] says "Bugs, why did it have to be bugs?"
* In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', Zak Arranda has a definite aversion to large insects, which really bites him in ''The Swarm'', which takes place on a world where the local people are giant bugs and the main threat is... smaller but still large bugs.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Niles Crane from {{Series/Frasier}} has a ''very'' severe form of this. He often believes that insects are bigger than they are, he has carried a ridiculous amount of bug repellent with him on more than one occasion, and, [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes while Frasier insists that he should see a therapist,]] he never does.[[hottip:*: This is related to his larger fear of dirt and compulsive cleanliness.]]
* Nick Stokes from ''Series/{{CSI}}'' displayed something of an ant phobia after being buried alive and covered in red ants, though it's not popped up again.
* ''Series/KenanAndKel'': Kenan's dad is afraid of ladybugs.
* Bees (apiphobia), Wasps, Hornets, Yellowjackets (sphecksophobia) -- Adam Savage from ''Series/MythBusters''.
* Richard Hammond from ''Series/TopGear'', if the Bolivia special is to be believed.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Adelbert Steiner in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', sort of. He's deathly afraid of oglops, an otherwise harmless insect.
* Blathers the Owl from ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' hates bugs of all sorts, as made obvious by how he reacts every time you turn in something for the museum's bug collection.
* Lyle Smithsonian of ''Videogame/MetroidOtherM'' really hates bugs. Guess what's invaded the Bottle Ship?
* [[ShrinkingViolet Florina]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 7]]'' is terrified by bugs (a support conversation shows her panicking when a bee flies around her), among a few other things.
* Karol in ''Videogame/TalesOfVesperia'' is shown to be petrified of them when the party visits a forest teeming with insects. In a rare show of kindness, Rita gives him a can of bug spray, which becomes a skill called 'Bug Busters' for him.
* Noel Vermillion from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' is afraid of bugs, especially ones with lots of legs. [[FridgeBrilliance Keep in mind she's only five, even if she doesn't look like it.]] When one considers [[TheWormThatWalks Arakune]] uses them in his attacks, her battles with him are... an experience.

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* Kiran from ''Webcomic/{{Chirault}}''.
* In ''{{Webcomic/Freefall}}'', [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2200/fc02117.htm Florence is afraid of hornets,]] and ''terrified'' by the Mayor as a side effect of canine pack dynamics.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': Steve is afraid of moths.
* The eponymous ''WesternAnimation/EekTheCat'' is really afraid of bugs.
* Billy from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' is terrified of bugs of all kinds especially spiders. Things only get worse for him when he hatches an egg that contains a giant spider who thinks he's his dad.
* WesternAnimation/KimPossible bitches out Ron over complaining about a spider bite, however when a villain grows mutant cockroaches she has a very unKimlike freakout over how terrified she is of them. She's only okay with bugs when they're "little and flick-able." Ron on the other hand finds one giant Roach which acts more like a dog than a roach adorable and names it "Roachy".
* Rod and Todd Flanders of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' are afraid of moths and ladybugs.
* BigGuy T-Bone of the ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' is revealed to be afraid of bugs in the episode "The Ci-Kat-A". Watching a movie about killer space bugs didn't help. What emerges from a retrieved space capsule later in the day? Giant insectoid alien parasites.
-->'''T-Bone:''' Why did it have to be bugs?\\
'''Razor:''' Just like that movie, T-Bone.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' episode "Aiaaagg! Spiders!", Penfold freaks out at a spider in the bathroom. Danger Mouse goes to take care of it, but the spider is much bigger than anticipated.
* Buttercup's nightmare realm fear in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Power-Noia" is of spiders. Blossom goads her into fighting back.
* Averted and subverted in Hyperion's series ''The Itsy Bitsy Spider'' (1993-95, USA cable channel, based on a 1992 theatrical short subject). Itsy is befriended by a little girl and is the target of fruitless pursuit and destruction by the little girl's teacher and a gung-ho exterminator.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mice & Rats (musophobia)]]

[[AC:General]]
* Elephants, in many, many stories. Always played for comedy as the world's largest living land animal retreats in fear (or panics and destroys things) at the sight of a tiny mouse. Bizarrely, this one seems to be at least partly true. Series/MythBusters [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpTSA_25wGE did it]]. It's speculated that it's because mice are big enough to be noticeable, but small enough that it's hard to keep an eye on them, particularly when they dash right between elephants' feet.
** Exceptions: the baby elephant who makes friends with [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry Jerry]], and Disney/{{Dumbo}}. (The other elephants in Dumbo's circus certainly are, though.)

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/{{Doraemon}}'': The title character is afraid of mice despite being a robotic cat. It's because he was once sleeping and mice ate his ears. He turned blue of the shock and that's why he is a blue, ear-less robot cat.
* General Blue from ''Manga/DragonBall'' in fact this is what breaks his concentration on paralyzing Goku when a mouse crawls across his leg.
* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Dawn's reactions to Plusle and Minun (two mouse-like Pokémon) range from BlueWithShock to shrieking collapse. Oddly, it's ''just'' those two; she has no problem with other Electric Pokémon (like her own Pachirisu), or mice (like Pikachu and her Cyndaquil). It stems from a childhood incident that gave her an EmbarrassingNickname. She gets over it later on, though.
* Rassha in ''RuinExplorers''. Inconvenient in that one of her traveling partners has a curse that turns them into a mouse whenever they do magic.
* All the Saber Marionettes in ''Anime/SaberMarionetteJ'' except Lime. And it's ''hard-coded'' into their programming.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' star Creator/AnnaPopplewell (Susan) was so afraid of mice that the scene where the mice [[spoiler: chew through the ropes binding Aslan's dead body]] had to be filmed in two separate places; one with poor Anna and one with the mice.
* John Rambo in ''[[Franchise/{{Rambo}} First Blood]]''. While having no problem with surviving in the wild and killing in self-defense, he clearly can't stand being surrounded by rats while hiding in a cave.
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', it's revealed that Indy's dad is afraid of rats. (He says so when he encounters a horde of them in the Italian catacombs, and it is confirmed when he tells his father about it, causing the elder Jones to tremble in fear.) Must be a family thing (see also Indy's son being afraid of scorpions, above).
** It makes sense. Indy's dad is a professor of Medieval studies and the bubonic plague which ravaged Europe in TheMiddleAges was caused by fleas on rats.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Winston Smith from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' is terrified of rats, a fear which is used against him in the most horrible way possible in {{Room 101}}.
** A short parody of this had the Ministry of Love turn out to be short of rats -- and Smith wasn't scared of anything else they had to offer. He wound up actually trying to ''help'' them find a creature they could torture him with:
-->"If it's any help, I can't stand moths."\\
"Moths?!" Esmond screamed. "What do you think we are, ruddy Harrods? We can't get moths for love nor money!"\\
"Comes in here asking for moths," muttered Esmond's assistant.
* In the novelization for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', it's hinted that Snake at the very least dislikes rats -- having to be assured that there's only "harmless brown mice" in the Shadow Moses vent by Campbell is the strongest suggestion of this. How much of it is actually canon for the character is debatable.
** Possibly justified in the fact that Big Boss used Zanzanibar Poison Hamsters to defend parts of Outer Heaven. [[http://www.slowbeef.com/MG2/chap58.html Yes, you really did just read that]].
* Mord-Sith Cara of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth''. Due to being harassed by rats while locked in a dungeon as a child, she becomes highly uneasy around them. Though she is able to stomach their presence a bit in the fourth book, her phobia is exploited and intensified when [[spoiler: Drefen Rahl tortures her by allowing a group of agitated rats to claw at her stomach.]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Gunn from ''Series/{{Angel}}''. First mentioned in S3's "Heartthrob", his phobia gets explicit illustration in S4, when the coming apocalypse causes a house's walls to fill with rats.
* In the ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' episode "The Tale Of Watcher's Woods", a girl is captured by three witches and put in a wooden cage. One witch asks her if she'd like to "play with some rodents" and proceeds to put a bucket of rats into the cage with the girl, who happens to be terrified of rats. The girl then freaks out and says: "Why did it have to be rats?!"
* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': Alice is revealed to be afraid of mice in "The Impractical Joker" after seeing a small, white mouse running loose in the house. The mouse was on loan to high school freshman Greg for a science project, and Jan – playing up her one-episode practical joking side – lets the mouse loose.
* In ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS1E10EnvironmentalScience Environmental Science]]", Troy and rats, with Troy even referencing the {{Trope Namer|s}}.
* Doc Robbins from ''Series/{{CSI}}'', who yells and screams and generally stands there scared to death when a rat launches itself out of a body on his table. Grissom is left to chase it and watch it escape.
* Topher in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' which [[spoiler: Dr. Saunders/Whiskey]] takes advantage of.
* Knit Knots on ''ImaginationMovers'' seems to be at least somewhat afraid of Warehouse Mouse, telling the Movers to keep the "furry, woodland creature" away from him.
* ''Series/IveGotASecret'': The first celebrity guest, Boris Karloff, reportedly had a rather mundane secret: "I'm afraid of mice." It wasn't long before the celebrity guests – at least during the CBS run – had more elaborate secrets to share.
* ''Series/KenanAndKel'': Kenan freaks out at the sight of a rat in his workplace. Kel, on the other hand, likes the "cute furry little mouse" Wendell.
* The warden in one episode of ''Series/TheMentalist'' is afraid of mice/rats. What does Jane do? [[spoiler:He uses a muffin and some other tools to catch a mouse/rat, and as part of his plan to break out of jail, essentially scares the crap out of the warden so he won't stop him.]]
* Gary from ''{{Series/Miranda}}'' is scared of mice, and jumps onto a chair when told there's one in Miranda's flat.
* ''Series/ModernFamily'': Mice for [[TheComicallySerious Mitchell.]]

[[AC:Puppet Shows]]
* Lady Penelope from ''{{Thunderbirds}}''; otherwise she's a formal, impossibly-calm British spy.

[[AC:Stand-up Comedy]]
* One comedian recalls a time when his wife called him home and he was terrified because she didn't elaborate on the phone... and then finds her standing on a stool, holding a baseball bat, because there's a mouse in the kitchen. And she's telling him to kill it. When he refuses, she brandishes the bat at ''him'' and says in a threatening voice, "Kill it!"

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* The Good Fairy in ''VideoGame/{{Ceville}}''. Obviously you have to exploit her weakness to solve a puzzle.
* Zelda from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' doesn't like mice. Used as a gameplay as Link has to get rid of those rodents before she will move on. Understandably it comes up as the third part of the final boss fight where if she gets touched by one, she fall under Cole's control. This creates the amusing sight of an imposing suit of AnimatedArmor (which Zelda possesses) shivering in fear at the sight of a mouse.
* The title character in ''Nick Chase and the Deadly Diamonds'' announced at one point that rats were his one weakness, his Achilles' heel.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Mammy Two Shoes from the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' shorts, as well as similar characters from various animation.
** One short has a circus elephant afraid of Jerry, but grew to like him (and protective of him) after Jerry [[AndroclesLion pulled a tack off of her foot]].
* [[EekAMouse A common phobia of cartoon housewives in the 50s]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Helga Pataki is deathly afraid of live rats, but only has sneering contempt for [[Theatre/{{Cats}} musicals starring anthropomorphic rats.]]

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Creator/DavidAttenborough has admitted that rats are the one creature he cannot stand to be around (although he still does have a kind of grudging admiration for their ability to survive nearly anywhere).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bats (chiroptophobia)]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* In the Franchise/{{Batman}} comics, the Scarecrow has developed chiroptophobia following years of defeats at the hands of Batman.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Film/AceVentura, as revealed in the second movie, when the sacred animal of the Wachatis turns out to be one.
* When Alfred asks Bruce Wayne why he uses the bat as his symbol in ''Film/BatmanBegins'', Bruce responds, "Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies shared my dread." This fear is also present in his initiation into the League of Shadows, his first encounter with the Scarecrow, and when he first finds the cave and is surrounded by swarming bats.
** Interestingly, in ''Film/BatmanForever'' he specifically says that a vision of bats only scared him at ''first''.
** In the same movie, The Riddler reacts with absolute terror after being beaten by Batman, going so far as to envision him as the same bat that young Bruce saw flying toward him as a child (a result of having used [[AppliedPhlebotinum The Box]] to map Bruce's mind and learn his SecretIdentity).
** In some versions, Scarecrow himself has a fear of bats owing to his encounters with Batman.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Mary Roberts Rinehart's ''Theatre/TheBat'' is about a thief and killer who is only known as "The Bat". He always leaves a bat of some sort at the scene of his crimes. Chiroptophobia begins to affect the city.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Mr Smoketoomuch in ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' gained his odd speech impediment (pronouncing the letter "C" as "B") after being attacked by a bat. No, not a cat -- a bat.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''Franchise/MetalGear'': Naked Snake has a fear of bats, and (by extension?) Dracula.
* ''VideoGame/MrDriller'': [[Characters/MrDriller Ataru]] is deadly afraid of bats, especially vampires.

[[AC:Web Animation]]
* Grif from ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is mortally afraid of bats despite, as Simmons points out, he's wearing power armor and bats couldn't possibly hurt him.
** Simmons, on the other hands, gets spooked at the mere mention of snakes. Cue pointless arguing.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Hank Hill from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is deathly afraid of bats in one episode, going as far as locking Bobby in the garage with a bat!
* Pinkie Pie of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' might qualify; no less than one episode after singing a whole song about how she laughs at her fears, she freaks out when she mistakes a pair of tickets that landed on her nose for bats, somehow.
* Panthro from ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats''.
* As an incredible irony, the Scarecrow apparently had this phobia from the start of his career in in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. In the first episode where he appeared, he claimed that his fear serum caused a victim to envision his greatest fear. So what does it cause ''him'' to see when he is exposed to it by accident? Horrible, demonic bats.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cats (ailurophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Umibozu in ''Manga/CityHunter'' is ''deadly'' afraid of cats, and especially [[TastesLikeDiabetes cute kittens]], leading to many [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Crowning Moments Of Funny]], as we're speaking about a [[GentleGiant giant]] {{Badass}} ProfessionalKiller here. His enemies, who know how unbeatable he is, often make use of this weakness to have a chance at him.
* PsychopathicManchild Pierrot le Fou from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' also hates cats, due to his association of them to his experimental trauma. [[spoiler:It also turns out the cat that was present during the experimentation had [[MismatchedEyes heterochromia]] just like Spike has (his false eye doesn't quite match his real one), which makes him freeze up at a crucial moment during their final showdown and allows Spike to defeat him]].
* Gilbert from ''Manga/PandoraHearts''; he was terrified into freezing up by the mere presence of the Cheshire Cat, to the point where he didn't react when Cheshire was about to rip him wide open, and ''he didn't even look like a cat.'' Cheshire looked like a ''[[PettingZooPeople bishie in a cat costume]]''.
* Ranma from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' developed this after training for a particular technique. Except there's a stinger in the tail -- Ranma's fear can drive him into a [[UnstoppableRage temporary psychotic state]] where he becomes a mindless but unbeatable berserker, and only Akane can bring him outta his funk. What makes this worse is that one of Ranma's [[UnwantedHarem many fiances]] is [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting cursed to turn into a cat]] when exposed to cold water.
* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'': In the Saiyuki Party Drama CD Sanzo is terrified of a small kitten that Goku brings in from the rain, so much that when it hides under his kimono he starts screaming (in some fan's minds) like a sissy.
** This is played with in the Reload anime with a mixture a fear and a supposed allergy. He got over it.
* Every single mermaid, (except Masa), in ''Manga/SetoNoHanayome'' is utterly terrified of cats, to the point that San's father (who is the head of a Yakuza clan) evacuates a school because Nagasumi had a kitten with him. Mikawa goes even further, using his contacts to bring in the ''military''.
* The wolf Toboe from ''Manga/WolfsRain'' says that cats creep him out. [[spoiler:However, after the world's death and rebirth Toboe is seen in human form cradling a stray kitten]].
* Professor Chronos from ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' was afraid of cats (and the fact that Daitokuji-sensei's pet cat Pharaoh was a constant presence at the Osiris dorm didn't help).
* In ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'' there are ''two'' characters with this phobia: Astral and Rio Kamishiro.
* Katsuobushiman from ''{{Franchise/Anpanman}}'' is a skillful samurai that's a master with his blade...but, thanks to being a dried bonito fish, he has a horribly crippling fear of cats. Baikinman has managed to use this fear against him, building giant feline robots. This also gives him troubles when being around Nyanja, a ninja cat.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Imhotep from The Steven Sommers version of ''Film/{{The Mummy|Trilogy}}'' cannot stand cats due to his supernatural curse -- cats being the Egyptian guardians of the Underworld. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K58cPYCTiPM&t=2m16s Click here to watch Big Bad Imhotep vs Cute Litte Cat.]].
* Yuki from the first ''Film/{{Juon}}'' has a huge phobia of cats, and is unable to even look at her friend Kanna's collection of cat ornaments and toys. Naturally, [[UndeadChild Toshio's]] [[CatsAreMean ghostly cat companion, Mar]], uses this to his advantage.
* Subverted in ''Film/{{Matilda}}''. Ms. Trunchbull freaks out when she sees a black cat- and eventually kicks it. Matilda asks Ms. Honey if Ms. Trunchbull is afraid of cats. Ms. Honey replies "only of black cats- she is very superstitious".
* In ''Film/TheBlackCat'' with Creator/BelaLugosi and Creator/BorisKarloff, Lugosi's character reacts violently to the sight of a cat. His fear only serves a purpose in one scene in the middle of the film. Mostly it makes the character even more unlikeable, as if Lugosi needed the help.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Skylar Korman, an 18-month-old cared for by the members of ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'', has a deathly fear of "tats". Her fear is triggered by someone speaking the word "cat", a babysitter affectionately calling her "kitten", and small (cat-sized) dogs.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Laura Roslin from ''{{Series/Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' (who has one or two issues with snakes, as well).
* Rei Tachibana/Dyna Pink from ''KagakuSentaiDynaman''. The mere sight of cat just freaks her out and she's rendered mostly incapable of fighting a cat monster, and it gets worse when said cat monster just transform the {{Mooks}} into cat statues. Ironically, she wants to develop a tool to communicate with animals... but can't even touch a cat without freaking out.
* Ed in ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'', at least according to Greg. Ed claims it was just once with a "scary cat," a point which Spike (hilariously) backs up.

[[AC:NewspaperComics]]
* Nate of ''ComicStrip/BigNate'' is terrified of cats. Often PlayedForLaughs.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Serge from ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' was said to have this (though he's apparently grown out of it by the time the player controls him). Justified in that he was attacked and nearly killed by a panther demon as a small child. We learn later that [[spoiler: Serge's father, Wazuki, was turned into a cat-like form by FATE because that was the thing that Serge feared the most.]]
* Creepers in ''Videogame/{{Minecraft}}'' flee from cats and ocelots.

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/FauxPas'', [[http://www.ozfoxes.net/cgi/pl-fp1.cgi?305 the dog Rags is afraid of cats]].

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Splinter has this phobia in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'', and you really can't blame him, seeing as he's a rat. His worst fears are realized when one of Shredder's experiments turns April into a feral CatGirl who fails to recognize him due to the stress of the transformation.
* The Little Dog in ''[[WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs 2 Stupid Dogs]]''.
* Peter Griffin of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is extremely freaked out by "that weird stretchy leg thing that cats do when they lick themselves."
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', the Professor starts dating Ms. Keane, but when he finds out she has a cat, he's quickly turned off, saying he doesn't like them bacause of a "bad experience" he had with one. (He's probably talking about the episode where he was brainwashed by a cat-villain, although this is strange, seeing as he supposedly forgot that the incident happened at the end.)

[[AC:Real Life]]
* Napoleon was scared of cats. Maybe if his enemies knew that, he would have been defeated after his first battle.
* It wasn't without malice that Ches was made into a scapegoat in TimBurton's 2010 version of ''Film/AliceInWonderland''; Burton ''really'' hates cats. (Whether this is a phobia or not depends on who you believe.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dogs (cynophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Taiga Kagami from ''Manga/KurokoNoBasuke''.
* Breda from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is terrified of dogs.
** As is [[HarmlessVillain Sayoko Mishima]] from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''.
* Yui from ''Manga/IchigoOneHundredPercent'' has a fear of dogs.
* Kim from ''Manga/{{Inubaka}}'', due to being menaced by feral dogs on a regular basis during his childhood. He eventually gets over it and adopts a shiba puppy, Chanta.
* Yōko from ''LightNovel/{{Inukami}}'' has a fear of dogs, which one might think as strange, given that she's an Inukami (dog god) herself... [[spoiler:except that she's actually a kitsune.]]
* Shun Mitaka of ''Anime/MaisonIkkoku'' has an inconvenient fear of dogs. Problem is, the object of his affection (Kyouko) has a big dog she is really fond of, and his arranged fiancée (Asuna) has a whole bunch of them in all sizes. [[spoiler:He beats his fear, by getting his own dog, who then gets him into a compromising (marriage) position.]]
* The Professor in ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'' is scared of dogs because she's afraid they may bite her. Rather amusing, given her favorite animal is the shark.
** Sakamoto is afraid of dogs too, but that's mostly because he's a cat.
* Sayo in ''Manga/{{Onidere}}'' cowers in fear of even the smallest puppy.
* [[CoolBigSis Tamaki]] of ''VisualNovel/ToHeart2'' is so afraid of dogs that she freezes on the spot. [[spoiler:It becomes a major plot point in the original VisualNovel to save her from one.]]
* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'' has Oshizu, who has a crippling fear of dogs, despite being a ghost. The characters [[LampshadeHanging point out]] that the dogs cannot do anything to her, as she's already dead, but it doesn't help.
** Justified now that she does have a physical body to inhabit and dogs ''can'' now do something to her... and she is definitely aware of this, and it only makes her fear worse.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''The String Of Pearls'', the original story of SweeneyTodd, Sweeney is terrified of dogs. Unfortunately for him, Mark Ingestrie's dog Hector is rather persistent.
* Sheila from ''[[Literature/{{Fudge}} Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great]]'' has a whole slew of insecurities, but her fear of dogs is specifically phobia-like.
* In ''The Gray Chronicles'', Gray has a crippling fear of dogs. This is initially PlayedForLaughs as he's fearless when facing demons, monsters, and angry ghosts that are far more dangerous than a barking chihuahua. Then TheRival sent his vicious attack dog after him and it became outright horror. Later subverted when Gray takes in an injured puppy out of kindness and realizes not all dogs are evil. (He still names the tiny Scottie '''[[DeathbringerTheAdorable BLOODFANG THE DESTROYER!]]''', but it's tongue in cheek, especially since the dog's the runt of his litter.)

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Kiki on ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''.
* Sgt. Riley from ''Series/{{Pixelface}}''.
* In ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', Tim has a cynophobia ("When they told me, I thought I was scared of bamboo"), which means he's less than pleased about Daisy getting a dog for the flat.
* Ever since the whole [[{{Hellhound}} hellhounds]] thing, ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'s'' Dean Winchester gets nervous around dogs.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Goblins]] in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' are psychotic little pyromaniacs who think little of charging into a village full of armed humans twice their size. While singing catchy tunes, no less. But they are ''terrified'' of both dogs (''not'' wolves, who they will even train and ride) and horses. These animals seem to hate goblins on sight, and will attack without mercy. Eliminating them is step one in planning a successful raid.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* A short time into the events of ''VideoGame/{{Geist}}'', it is revealed that BigBad Volks's [[TheDragon Dragon]] Rourke is afraid of dogs. Close to the end of the game, Volks holds a meeting behind locked doors and gives specific orders to shoot anyone who comes close who isn't himself or Rourke. The solution is straightforward: [[BodySurf possess Rourke]]. To possess someone, you must first terrify him. Thus, you undergo a series of short missions for the sole purpose of getting a dog into the same room as him.
* Alessa Gilespe from ''Franchise/SilentHill'' was terrified of dogs, which due to [[spoiler: her and the town itself being a RealityWarper who brings fears and abstract concepts to "life"]] is responsible for several monsters you see throughout the series; [[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming Split Head]], [[VideoGame/SilentHill1 Groaner]], and possibly the [[VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins Caliban]].
* According to the Drama CD of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear XX'', Zappa is terrified of dogs (then again, he seems to be scared of ''everything''). Guess what? One of the ghosts possessing him takes the form of a huge, hulking black dog.
* Frederick from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is afraid of wolves due to nearly getting killed by one when he was younger. Even something that looks like a wolf, like a [[KillerRabbit taguel]], can trigger this.

[[AC:Web Comics]]
* One of Cerise's opponents from ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'' is afraid of dogs, so [[spoiler: once Callie, Cerise's new girlfriend then, lets that fear be known,]] Cerise casts the "Inifipuppy" summon that launches a lot of cute little [[PreciousPuppy puppies]] to the field. The puppies [[ZergRush swarm]] her opponent and cause her to collapse into a fetal position.
-->"N-Noses... So cold..."

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Even though they are part of somewhere else, ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'''s Aelita is scared of wolves.
* Mr. Herriman from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' is afraid of dogs

[[AC:Real Life]]
* This is a fairly common phobia in India, Nigeria, and most countries where fewer people keep dogs as pets.
* GenghisKhan was afraid of dogs. (And you can't blame him; a lot of breeds of dogs in Mongolia tend to be mean.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rabbits (leporiphobia)]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Anya from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. She dressed up as a bunny for Halloween ("Bunnies frighten me."), sang about bunnies in "Once More, with Feeling!", then was standing on a table when misspoken incantations had filled the Magic Box floor with rabbits of all shapes and sizes, calling it a "cotton-top hell". Somewhat justified, in that [[spoiler: a highly traumatic incident involving an unfaithful husband, [[TorchesAndPitchforks angry villagers]], and rabbits was the catalyst for her becoming a demon in the first place]].
* Bishop Brennan in ''Series/FatherTed'' -- apparently he was once stuck in a lift in New York with about a hundred rabbits, and "they began nibbling at my cloak and everything". Obviously he is destined to wake up in a room full of rabbits in "The Plague" episode of season 2.
* Julius is terrified of rabbits on ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' because he saw a horror movie about them when he and Rochelle were dating. When he takes Drew to a magic show, he passes out when the magician pulls a rabbit out of his hat. Clearly, he saw ''Film/NightOfTheLepus''.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' Grover is terrified of rabbits.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' Nova's greatest fear are rabbits.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Frogs & Toads (batrachophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* [[GeniusBruiser Choutaro Ohtori]] in the anime version of ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis''. Just watch him scream in horror when a cute li'l frog jumps on his face...
* Kaede Nagase of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', the {{badass}} {{Ninja}}, and easily the most calm of the entire cast seems to only be thrown off by the mere sight of frogs. Any frogs.
* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' anime, the first time Sakura sees Naruto summon a toad, she cringes and tells him she can't stand frogs. Great, he had enough trouble getting dates with her already.
* Sai from ''Manga/HikaruNoGo'' has expressed a terror of frogs... or at least of a [[{{Gonk}} spectacularly ugly]] man whose smile was frog-like, to the point of distracting Sai from his favorite game.
* Kanzo Hattori, the blue ninja in ''{{Ninja Hattori-kun}}'' by Fujiko Fujio (A).
* Fujiko Mine from ''Manga/LupinIII'' is afraid of frogs, naturally Lupin teases her from time to time about it, and Zenigata used it against her on one occasion to get information out of her.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Big Bully Troy from ''Film/MaxKeeblesBigMove'' is terrified of a giant Barney-like Scottish frog named [=McGoogles=]. That's, like, four fears in one.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Willow from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
--> "Don't warn the tadpoles!"
* Señor Chang from ''Series/{{Community}}''.
* Madison in ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce''. She actually says "Why did it have to be frogs?" when facing a MonsterOfTheWeek planning to unleash poisonous tadpoles on the city -- though many episodes earlier, she'd been able to overcome this long enough to kiss a helpful frog, turning him into their SixthRanger. This fear was carried over from her ''[[Franchise/SuperSentai Magiranger]]'' counterpart, Urara.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Cornet of ''VideoGame/RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure'' suffers from this. Unfortunately, frogs are hiding in every other container in the Marl Kingdom. Oh, and there's a kingdom of bipedal, sentient frogs.
* Volgin from ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 3|SnakeEater}}''. The phobia is so strong that if you toss a live frog at him during your boss fight with him, he'll stop attacking you to kill the frog, allowing you to get a hit in.
* Lucca of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''. Becomes awkward when it comes up immediately after they meet with one of the party members, a giant anthropomorphic frog.
* Refia of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' has a fear of frogs, which makes for a fairly amusing conversation the two times where you have to transform into one to enter a dungeon. It's even better if she is the character who has to cast the "Toad" magic.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* [[Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog Tiana]] seems to be pretty afraid or grossed out by frogs. This is a bit of a problem.
* WC Moore from ''WesternAnimation/LittleElvisJonesAndTheTruckstoppers'' freaks out every time he sees one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bears (arctophobia)]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Creator/StephenColbert, obviously. It's why he spreads the message that they are soulless, godless, killing machines who are the number one threat to America.
* Adam of ''Series/TopGearUS'' is revealed to be fearful of bears. As his camper in Alaska, he had even built a huge cage with a picture of a lion to keep the bears and moose away.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Irwin has a fear of bears... the telling of jokes to such an audience, as revealed in ''Big Boogey Adventure''. Cue Horror's Hand conjuring it up for him.
* Phil Ken Sebben from ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' also has this fear, and is even voiced by Stephen Colbert. This isn't as much ActorAllusion as the actual Stephen Colbert really being afraid of bears.

[[AC:Tropes]]
* BearsAreBadNews
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Birds (ornithophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Tetsuya Tsurugi from ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' and Kyouichi Shidou from ''Idaten Jump''. Both of them were attacked by birds when they were small children. Naturally, the omake of the ''Idaten Jump'' episode featuring Shido's hate of birds milked it for what it's worth.
* Sengyoku of ''Manga/HoushinEngi'' is afraid of birds after being stalked by a guy with birds.
* Blue from ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'' is afraid of birds for roughly the same reason. [[spoiler:She gets over it by confronting Ho-Oh, the Pokémon who kidnapped her, and capturing Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, also known as the legendary birds. She then sics them on [[BigBad The Mask of Ice]].]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Scarecrow]], the Master of Fear and Lord of Despair, is [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes]] depicted as having a crippling fear of birds, explained by some writer's description of creative abuse on his grandmother's part. Makes sense -- who wouldn't want their alter ego to be the thing that scares the thing that scares them?
* A ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}'' comic involving him trying to join the Comicbook/{{X-Men}} included him continuously pestering Domino to find out what's her greatest fear; turns out it's chickens. While this seems to be a BigLippedAlligatorMoment for most of the arc, at the end where Domino and {{Wolverine}} are tracking Deadpool down they have to go through an air vent occupied by a chicken. Domino will probably NeverLiveItDown that a chicken took her out of action in a fight.

[[AC:Films -- Animated]]
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', BigBad Hopper ended up being eaten alive by birds.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', Rattlesnake Jake is deathly afraid of [[spoiler: hawks since they are his natural predator.]] Rango uses this to his advantage by [[spoiler: getting the moles and their bats to ride in formation resembling a hawk. But Rattlesnake Jake figures out the ruse quickly.]]
* The villain of ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'' also ended up being eaten alive by birds.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Though no character was explicitly afraid of birds at the beginning of [[Film/TheBirds a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie]], they probably were all ornithophobic by the end of it.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In Creator/StephenKing's novel ''Literature/{{It}}'', the frightening forms IT takes on, drawn from the personal fears of its victims, include giant birds in several cases, though IT is usually more remembered as a MonsterClown.
** One character's fear of a giant bird is revealed later in the book to originate from being attacked by a normal-sized bird when an infant. The other does not fear birds per se, but the impossible dimensions of this one in particular, [[AlienGeometries a species that does not and cannot exist in the real world]].
* Also shows up in the Creator/NeilGaiman novel ''Literature/AnansiBoys,'' although is it an irrational fear when the birds really ''are'' out to get you?
* A minor character from ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', Mrs. Mason, is terrified of all kinds of birds, so when an owl flies in to warn Harry about using magic.... well, let's just say Uncle Vernon ''didn't'' get the big paycheck he wanted. Likewise, Harry gets locked in his room for the remainder of the summer.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Sheldon of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' shows a fear of birds in one episode. After trying to ignore a bluejay ([[ArtisticLicenseBiology actually a black throated magpie jay]]), build a sonic emitter to scare it off, and finally donning a [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett helmet]] and trying to shoo it away for good, it flies into the apartment, and makes it's home on Sheldon's couch. He gets over his fear eventually, to the point of naming it Lovey-Dovey.
** He mentions that he became terrified of birds after a bird attacked him and stole his food as a baby, and when he was a child, a chicken chased him up a tree.
* Sam(antha) on ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''
* Hodges in ''Series/{{CSI}}'' reveals to have this when it came to processing a blue-and-yellow Macaw; he was terrorized by Canadian geese as a child while visiting an uncle in Saskatchewan.
* Robert from ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'' is terrified of geese because they chased him when he was a child.
* Guenièvre in the French series ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'' is afraid of birds.
* Hamilton "Ham" Dewey, from the series ''SavingGrace'', is terrified of birds. He becomes agitated at a crime scene when he catches sight of the victim's small pet bird; later in the episode, his friends change his work computer's wallpaper to a close-up image of a baby bird's open mouth, which has him leaping back from the desk when he jiggles the mouse to deactivate the screen saver. His comrades also scatter birdseed in the courtyard just outside the squad room to attract large numbers of wild birds for the express purpose of freaking him out.
* Hiromu Sakurada of ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'' is so afraid of chickens that just mentioning them is enough to get him weak in the knees, it doubles as his WeaksauceWeakness as when he actually sees one, [[hottip:*:be it a picture or even a windvane,]] his powers activate and he freezes

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Shale loathes birds in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' due to its stint as a statue in Honnleath. [[spoiler: as a prank you can give her an unsquishable pigeon and [[WhatTheHellHero force her to wear it instead of armour, all the time]] with the Feast Day DLC.]]
* GLaDOS comes to hate them in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}''. To be fair, [[spoiler:[[ItMakesSenseInContext during her stint as a potato]], one picked her up against her will, escorted her to its nest and started pecking at her]], so she has good reason to be distrustful.
-->'''GLaDOS:''' AGH! BIRD! BIRD! Kill it! It's evil!
** Wheatley also demonstrates a dislike for birds.
-->'''Wheatley:''' BIRD BIRD BIRD BIRD

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': Stan is afraid of seagulls.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' shows that Tyler is deathly afraid of chickens. This has him voted off the island, and on the boat of losers, he sees dozens of chickens and freaks out.

[[AC:Real Life]]
* David Boreanaz has a phobia of chickens. It made the ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode "The Tough Man In The Tender Chicken" rather interesting behind the scenes
* Creator/BeaArthur also had a chicken fear. ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' scene where Rose brings home a live chicken had to be restaged to make things easier on Bea.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Slugs & Snails (molluscophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* The heroine of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', Lina Inverse, also known (to herself) as Sorceress Genius and (to anyone else) as Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker and Enemy Of All Who Live, is terrified ''unto death'' by two things: Slugs, and her big sister Luna. Her sister is also the reason why she fears slugs. [[GoodIsNotNice Luna]] was pissed off because [[ChaoticNeutral Lina]] decided to sell pictures of her in the bath, and...
* Genie in ''Anime/{{Rune Soldier|Louie}}'' had some very bad experience with giant snails, which leads to Louie giggling immaturely and thinking of NaughtyTentacles.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Ursula of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' is utterly ''terrified'' of sea lice (a harmless bug). Especially hilarious as this ends up being revealed in a WhatDoTheyFearEpisode segment between her and [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Nina]], and Ursula is normally a Type A Tsundere who tries to be tougher than most men...
* Carol Palecki in ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight''. It's one of the rare things that makes her lose her permanent GenkiGirl attitude [[spoiler: or rather, her permanent [[StepfordSmiler Genki Girl facade]]]]. Do ''not'' pull a prank of putting a slug on her, or [[LostForever she'll immediately cut all ties with you]].

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Elmyra]], lover of all animals and things that are cute, hates slimey things, including slugs. She even whacks Plucky and Hampton when [[ItMakesSenseInContext she mistakes them for]] [[TeenageMutantSamuraiWombats giant slugs]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Animals]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Ferrets: Inori from ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'' is afraid of ferrets at first, due to getting bitten by a ferret whom she tried to tend to (she's a veterinarian daughter)... and then when she became a Precure, she got saddled with a ferret fairy, Tart, which freaked her out that she either communicates with her friends with a phone in the same room ''just so she doesn't need to look at Tart'', and used a long range hand device for body contact. That got resolved in about 10 episodes after one FreakyFridayFlip in which Inori got stuck in Tart's body and made her overcome her fears.
** Octopus: Miki from the same series is reduced into a screaming loon whenever she saw an octopus, living or not, due to an incident when she's young and tried to play with a small octopus, only for the octopus to wrap her hands with its tentacles and started showing off its tentacles in close up, freaking her out. Since she was trying to be 'perfect', she tried hiding this fear, but things excarbated when the current MonsterOfTheWeek is taken from an octopus statue. Thankfully, Setsuna managed to give blunt but encouraging words that eventually pushed Miki to get over her fear and fight the monster, and eventually her whole fear.
* Kaitou Kid, the titular character of ''Manga/MagicKaito'' and an EnsembleDarkHorse character in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' is afraid of... [[spoiler:fish. To the point where only a bomb going off on a boat urges Kaito to scuba dive to find out what happened to his not-girlfriend Aoko and Silver during a chapter in Volume 1.]]
* The titular character from ''Manga/ShinryakuIkaMusume'' is deathly afraid of sharks and killer whales, even inflatable ones (in the beginning, at least). {{Justified|Trope}} in that she is a squid girl and sharks and killer whales are natural predators to her and since she has no idea what floats are, she assumes that the inflatable ones are real. She works and lives near a popular beach with lots of children...
* In ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'', given how long she's been in the wild, you'd think someone like [[WildChild Sapphire]] wouldn't exhibit this. However, during the single-elimination tournament at the Battle Frontier, she winds up paired against Tucker and subsequently [[CurbStompBattle chokes]] when he deploys his Salamence (compared to Ruby, who went up against Emerald but threw his fight). Reviewing the R/S arc should give deep insight as to the [[HarmfulToMinors source of this particular issue]]. And unlike Blue above, she hasn't had the chance to thwart this issue... yet.
* Iris from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' ''Best Wishes'' has a huge fear of [[spoiler: Ice]] Pokemon similar to Misty and her fear of bugs. The first Pokemon she reacted to do with absolute disgust was Trip's [[spoiler: [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Vanillite, one of the most harmless looking Ice-type Pokemon around.]]]] When both Ash and Trip ask her why she's scared of [[spoiler: Vanillite]], she replies that as a Dragon trainer, she has developed an emotional bond for them including the weakness. Trip calls her out on it though because he says that Dragons are also super effective against each other and should have a fear of Dragons as well. Iris then tells him to shut up and quickly corrects herself by saying [[spoiler: she can't stand the cold.]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* When Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}'s sidekick Aqualad was introduced he had icthyophobia (fear of fish). Since he was Atlantean, this was a problem.
* This trope was discussed by Scarecrow in ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures Annual'' #1. He has tied up a student and is using his Fear Gas to simulate him being covered in different animals, while lecturing him about how different people respond to different types of fear. The man is made to believe he is covered in snakes, spiders, and rats, and reacts stoically. Then Scarecrow tries leeches, and he goes into an instant panic.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Quinn, in the obscure horror movie ''DevilsDen'', is terrified of squirrels. He would prefer death by mauling by a mountain lion over an encounter with squirrels.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Horses: Parker, in ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. As a young child, she saw a horse kill a clown. (It was actually a guy in a horse costume.)
* Grant Imahara of ''Series/MythBusters'' is afraid of sharks. Naturally, he got to be the one in the water for the Shark Week episode.
* Billy of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' was terrified of fish. [[NegativeContinuity For one episode, anyway]]. Apparently one bit him on the finger when he was a kid. This phobia turns up just in time for a fish-themed monster to appear so he can overcome it and rescue his friends.
** It wasn't a coincidence. Rita created the monster on purpose when she found out about it, and used a curse that amplified his phobia. By standing up to it, he not only broke the curse, but [[NiceJobFixingItVillain overcame the fear permanently.]]
* Comedian Russell Howard is afraid of guinea pigs, shown by his reaction to a guinea pig appearing on ''Series/RussellHowardsGoodNews'' when he unsubtly hid behind the guest animal psyhic.
* Myka Bering of ''Series/Warehouse 13'' declares her own cnidariophobia when having to deal with Lovecraftesque phantasms.

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* [[http://axecop.com/index.php/acask/read/ask_axe_cop_72/ Parodied]] by ''Webcomic/AxeCop''. Axe Cop is terrified of [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys talking gorillas]]. They are his greatest fear.
* Two from ''Webcomic/DeathToTheExtremist'' is afraid of ponies.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Monkeys (maimouphobia) -- Ron from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. Especially difficult given the recurring monkey-themed super villain Lord Monkey Fist. For further irony, in the episode introducing Monkey Fist, Ron is granted the Mystical Monkey Power the villain sought.
* Twister from ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower'' develops a fear of giant monkeys in one episode.
* Music/{{Gorillaz}} singer/keyboardist 2D is deathly afraid of whales. As of current canon he's being held prisoner in a small underwater cell with a whale lurking outside the window.
* WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'s sister D.W. is terrified of octopuses.

[[AC: Real Life]]
* Read anything from the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' and remember that Creator/HPLovecraft was afraid of fish.
* Creator/KevinSmith is reportedly deathly afraid of sharks (galeophobia). Ironically, ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' is one of his favorite movies.
* Director Creator/WernerHerzog is afraid of chickens.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Flying (aviophobia) or Heights (acrophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Gene Starwind (space travel) from ''Manga/OutlawStar'' (Conveniently, the titular CoolShip has AppliedPhlebotinum that keeps the fear from taking effect). Rather justified because his last experience in space before the story begins saw him watching from an escape pod as his dad was killed.
* Akito Hayama from [[Manga/KodomoNoOmocha Kodocha]].
* [[Manga/SailorMoon Sailor Jupiter]] (her parents died in a plane crash), although apparently the writers forgot about it when they put her on a plane in an episode of the final season. (It was only mentioned in the manga.)
* One villain in ''[[Manga/SixSixSixSatan 666 Satan]]'' took this to a ridiculous degree: he's so afraid of heights that he is scared crapless if he needs to ''stand up''.
* ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'': Katsura Hinagiku was deathly afraid of heights, although she seems to be able to handle them now, particularly when it means spending time with Hayate, or something having to do with him. Ayumu also seems to have a similar effect on her.
* Masayuki from ''Anime/GhostHound'' became deathly scared of heights for perfectly understandable reasons. He got over it by spending hours at a time playing a virtual reality flight simulator game. Actual flight didn't hurt either.
* Yuri from ''Anime/WandabaStyle'' is afraid of heights, as TheProfessor learned when he sent her (and the other girls of [[GirlGroup Mix Juice]]) into space.
* Esteban from ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold''. This is established in his very first appearance, and a recurring plot point throughout the series.
* Shinichi Chiaki's fear of flying is a subplot in ''Manga/NodameCantabile''. He has to overcome this phobia before he can emerge as a world-class conductor.
* ''Manga/{{Mitsudomoe}}'''s Hitoha is depicted to be acrophobic, complete with the VertigoEffect.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* Cutter, chieftain of the Wolfriders and main character of the storyline, in ''Comicbook/ElfQuest''. The revelation of this phobia is a significant plot point, midway through book one in the series: Cutter is required to 'fess up (from his subconscious, even) his worst fear specifically so he can be compelled to face and defeat it. Oh yeah, and there's also his rival Rayek and ''his'' fear of losing, but eh, who cares about him.
* Bigby Wolf from ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'' really doesn't like heights (since his ancestors weren't apes, he says).
* Wolf in Marvel's ''Team America'', but at least he can be kept conscious for a flight, although his powerful terrified death grip is hard on the seats.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Lt. Kaffee in ''Film/AFewGoodMen'' says that he gets sick when he flies because he's worried about "crashing into a large mountain."
* The strongest and the most badass members of recon platoon in ''Film/HeartbreakRidge'' are both afraid of heights. On a parachute jump, the badass comforts the big guy thusly
-->'''Sergeant Highway:''' Jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft is not a natural act, so let's do this and do it right.
* Bastian in ''Film/TheNeverendingStory 2''. Oddly enough, he doesn't have this same fear in the first movie.
* Danny Glover's character from ''Franchise/{{Predator}} 2'' is scared of heights. What a mind-boggling surprise that he ends up chasing the alien in question across some very high and precarious bits of the city.
* Richard Gere's character in ''Film/PrettyWoman'' is an acrophobe, so he must ''really'' love the heroine when at the end he climbs up an openwork metal fire escape to her.
* The lead character's love interest in ''Film/SayAnything''.
* In ''Film/StarTrek'', Bones reveals that he suffers from a "fear of dying in something that flies!"
-->'''Bones:''' Don't pander to me, kid, one tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in 13 seconds. A solar flare might crop up and cook us in our seats. And wait till you're sittin' pretty with a case of Andorian shingles. See if you're so relaxed when your ''eyeballs are bleeding.'' Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.
-->'''Kirk:''' Well, I hate to break it to you, but Starfleet operates in space.
* Creator/JimmyStewart's detective character in the aptly-named ''Film/{{Vertigo}}''.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Most of Creator/JRRTolkien's hobbits are stated to be uneasy if they are any distance off the ground, this perhaps being one of the reasons why they live in "hobbit-holes" and one-story houses.
* ''TortallUniverse'': Keladry of Mindelan is terrified of heights after being held over the edge of a tower by her brother. It ''mostly'' goes away at the end of the second book, but never completely.
* Jack Ryan, from ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'', not only lost both of his parents to an airliner crash, but early in his (aborted) military service the helicopter he was riding in, for an exercise, crashed, leaving him needing significant surgery, and ultimately having a fear of flying. He eventually got over it later in the Ryanverse series, though.
* Percy Jackson in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' is scared of heights. {{Justified|Trope}} in that he is a son of Poseidon, and the sky is part of the sphere of influence belonging to Zeus. The only exception is with Pegasi, because Poseidon created horses, which means that they are neutral territory.
** Ironically, Thalia is deathly afraid of heights, despite being the daughter of Zeus.
** WordOfGod also says that children of Hephaestus are afraid of heights and falling, because when he was born, their father was chucked off Olympus by Hera.
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, Rincewind was always afraid of heights, so during his adventures he often ends up hanging or falling from high places. In ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'' his friend, Twoflover reminisces the "good old times":
-->'''Twoflover:''' Hey, do you remember the time when we went over the edge of the world?\\
'''Rincewind:''' Often. Usually around 3 AM\\
'''Twoflover:''' And that time we were on a dragon and it disappeared in mid-air?\\
'''Rincewind:''' You know, sometimes a whole hour will go by when I don't remember that.
** Actually, when he was on a boat, Rincewind clarified that it wasn't so much heights he feared as depths, which included large bodies of water. Anything where you could fall for a considerable distance, ending in death.
** Rincewind is [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou afraid of grounds.]]
* Anthony Horowitz' ''Scorpia'' has this for [[spoiler:the book's [[TheDragon Dragon]], Nile, as his only weakness, the only thing that made him finish second at the training camp for the book's eponymous MurderInc. It's also what leads to his death: under orders from his boss, he confronts Alex on a hot air balloon. Alex points out the height long enough for him to lose his focus, and a quick trick has him fall off.]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* BA Baracus in ''Series/TheATeam''. He typically has to be rendered unconscious before flying him anywhere. According to TheMovie, he used to be a paratrooper and developed his fear from [[DrivesLikeCrazy "H.M." Murdock's piloting]].
* ''Series/MythBusters'':
** In the "Hammer Drop", we find out that Jamie Hyneman apparently has a mild case of acrophobia. This comes up again in the "Outtakes Special". In some unaired footage from "Plywood Builder", Jamie is trying to reassure Christine about her impending (until she decided not to) zipline ride, and says "You know I'm afraid of heights". And he jumps off a building in "Dumpster Dive" ... but you could tell he wasn't happy about it. He was even less happy about crossing a 100-foot duct tape bridge 50 feet above the ground. Though, considering how unstable the thing was...
** Colleague Tory Belleci is also acrophobic, so he had to go up in a stunt plane for the "Cold Feet" myth.
* Lori from ''BigWolfOnCampus''.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''s Dean Winchester is terrified of flying. Why do you think he drives everywhere?
* ''Series/MacGyver'', at least in the early seasons. He seems to get over his problem with heights as the show progressed.
* Sam Beckett from ''Series/QuantumLeap'', who, due to the amnesia caused by leaping, didn't remember his fear of heights until he leaped into a trapeze artist in the middle of a practice.
* Both versions of ''{{Neverwhere}}'' have Richard Mayhew say he dislikes heights rather early on. The series has it in the introduction of the very first episode, where Richard talks about himself including his dislike of rats, blood, and heights. He encounters all three.
* Daniel Jackson from ''Series/StargateSG1'' mentions in a throwaway line in one episode that he has a problem with heights. This came up right before he and Sam had to crawl across a tiny strip of floor over an apparently bottomless pit. [[spoiler:He did fine with it, and eventually threw himself off their "bridge" to save their companion, 'cause he's Daniel.]]
* Presenter James May on ''Series/TopGear'' gets height vertigo (a spinning sensation when he looks down from a height). He took flying lessons and acquired a private pilot's license to help himself learn to cope with it.
* Alice from ''Series/{{Alice|2009}}'' is very afraid of heights. Most likely to balance the fact that she is an ActionGirl.
* Clark Kent in the early seasons of ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. Insert clever one-liner about "Irony" here.
* On ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', Carla is afraid to fly, which prevents her from seeing her husband, hockey player Eddie [=LeBec=], on the road. She takes an aviaphobia group therapy class conducted by Frasier on a plane to get over it. Carla overcomes her fear but Frasier suddenly becomes freaked out about being on a plane.
* The first episode of ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' has Bob heading a workshop for people trying to overcome their fear of flying. When the group is ready to "graduate", he plans a group flight from Chicago to New York, and enlists his wife Emily to join them...only to discover that she's afraid of flying herself.
* A ''Series/SanfordAndSon'' episode has Fred inheriting money from an uncle, with the hitch being that he has to fly home to St. Louis (which he's afraid to do) to collect.
* Jack Carter of ''Series/{{Eureka}}'' has acrophobia, although not to a disabling point, it does make him visibly uncomfortable in a few episodes.
* Dave Barsky of ''Series/DirtyJobs'', as shown in the "Aerial Tram Greaser" episode.
* At least one team a season on ''Series/TheAmazingRace''. If a fear is expressed at any point during the seasons (generally heights), expect the racers to have to face it at some point.
* Gary on ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''
* Reid's mom (played by Jane Lynch) in ''Series/CriminalMinds'' mentions being afraid of planes.
* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'': Horatio is prone to sea-sickness and is really afraid of heights. Excellent material for an officer in the Navy, wouldn't you say? His fear of heights is referenced quite often, and he has to climb in the riggings or on the fighting top and deal with shortening sails quite a lot. In "Retribution", he volunteers himself to descend from a cliff on a rope and his pal Archie mischievously reminds him of his anxiety.
-->'''Archie Kennedy:''' ''[saucily]'' I remember when you used to be scared of heights, Mr Hornblower.
-->'''Horatio Hornblower:''' ''[measures the height he must descend from]'' Nothing's changed, Mr Kennedy.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* Music/JohnMackey wrote "Turbine" to deal with his fear of flying.
-->"[...] But in the back of my mind, I'm always aware that we're up quite high -- and our lives (and that beauty) depend on these massive pieces of machinery. If that machine (in this case, the percussion) should fail, we'd all be in serious trouble, so I just keep my knuckles gripped to the armrest, look out at the clouds, think pretty thoughts, and hope that the pulse of that engine never lets up."
--->'''-- Mackey, in his commentary on the piece'''

[[AC:Pro Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/{{Rey Mysterio|Jr}} has admitted in several interviews to being terrified of heights. It hasn't stopped him from jumping off something high yet, but he's [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial oddly specific]] about it...

[[AC:Toys]]
* Grizzler of the Werebears toy line is very afraid of heights and transforms when he's up on a very high place.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Alister, Lara Croft's NonActionGuy partner from the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' series, does not like heights. At all. They make him "positively nauseous," as he comments at one point in the Japan mission of ''Tomb Raider Legend'' where Lara is making a dangerous climb up a really tall office building.
* Blaze the Cat from the ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' series is often implied to have a fear of heights, especially when they reach a zone like [[Anime/CastleInTheSky Sky Babylon]].
* Emma, Hal's sister in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' doesn't like heights when asked about it by Raiden, but stated it's preferable to Water.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', Solid Snake can't be made to jump off the Tower Building in Zanzibar Land unless you first equip the cigarettes and leave him long enough for the smoking IdleAnimation to start -- presumably to soothe his nerves.
* Bartz Klauser in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has a fear of heights ever since he almost fell down from the roof of a two story house while playing hide and go seek.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' has the example of Golem Boss who, after Dalton summons on top of the wing of an airship, cowers in fear from the height, [[ZeroEffortBoss without attacking]]. If not killed quickly, he then runs away.
* All playable lawyers, save [[spoiler: Mia Fey]] seem to suffer from this in the ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series: Miles Edgeworth (who already has a Seismophobia to boot) needs Gumshoe to fetch him books from the higher up shelves, Phoenix Wright has to be led by his hand by his teenage sidekick when passing a bridge and breaks out into hysterical catchphrase-shouting upon boarding a Ferris Wheel and Apollo Justice can't ascend as much as 10 meters without starting to shiver like a dry pile of leaves.
* In one mission in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', Niko seems nervous about having to take a lift on the outside of a building to get to its roof.
** And in ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'', [[TheLancer Cesar]] refuses to get into a crane because he's afraid of heights.

[[AC:Web Original]]
* Dr. Shelton from ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' shows a fear of flying in the third RP.
** Likewise, Gustave, a ''massive'' [[FunnyAnimal Nile crocodile]] with SuperStrength and is MadeOfIron is terrified of heights.
* Brad Jones, WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob, is terrified of flying. Linkara mentioned Brad had to knock himself out to get to [[WebVideo/{{Kickassia}} Reno]].
* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Humorously, the biggest, baddest, meanest Freelancer of them all, Agent Maine, doesn't like heights. It comes up when they use a pulley to get something up to the roof of a building, and Maine's the only one heavy enough to counterbalance it.
-->'''Maine:''' Too high.
-->'''Carolina:''' Oh, don't be a baby. ''[kicks him out the window]''
** Sarge is also afraid of heights. Simmons points out that Sarge used to jump out of airplanes earlier in his military service.
-->'''Sarge''': And how do you think I developed that fear?

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Ulrich from ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' -- though he's more exactly suffering from medical [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_(medical) vertigo]].
* [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Marge Simpson]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBackyardigans'': Tasha during the episode "Chichen-Itza Pizza". During a song, she chants the following:
-->'''Tasha:''' ''Don't look down! Don't look down! Tasha, don't look down!''\\
''Don't look down! Don't look down! Tasha, don't look down!''\\
''Don't look down! Don't look down! Or you'll hit the ground!''
* Silverbolt, of the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', is the commander of the ''Aerialbots''. Just in case you can't parse the name: he transforms into a Concorde SST.
** Lampshaded in that the reason Optimus Prime made him commander of the Aerialbots was that Prime knew Silverbolt's worrying about their safety would keep his mind off it.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Chuckie develops a fear of heights after accidentally climbing the big kids' slide and finding himself ''way too high'' for his liking.
** The concept is played in an ''Webcomic/{{XKCD}}'' comic of a man who couldn't go down a slide because it looked so tall. As an adult, he revisits it, and is surprised to realize the slide really WAS that tall.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': While not quite so extreme as to be a fear, Toph explicitly has a strong dislike for flying, because lack of contact with the ground leaves her fully blind.
* Before Mabel cured him, Grunkle Stan from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' had a major fear of heights, to the point where he refused to allow a ladder in the house.
* Marc Clark of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez'' though whether it was a CompressedVice is debatable since he had no problems with flying (in fact, he tends to fly the team's jet) and the problem was gone by the end of the episode.
* Buster of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'':
-->'''Buster:''' ''(while on a plane)'' I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying...

[[AC:Real Life]]
* Filmmaker Creator/LarsVonTrier rarely moves far from the border of his native Denmark, and has never left Europe due to an intense fear of flying. He even turned down an offer to direct for Creator/StevenSpielberg due to this.
* Creator/StanleyKubrick also had a fear of flying, and as a result, spent the last 40 years of his life in England.
* Former soccer player and now sports coach Marcelo "Bichi" Borghi is also infamous by his fear of planes. The ''very'' few times he doesn't travel by bus/train/car with his teams, he has to be sedated to the point of almost passing out when on the plane.
* Legendary UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball announcer John Madden was famous for his aviophobia. This gave him his iconic trademark - the Madden Bus.
* [[FourStarBadass General of the Air Force]] Henry "Hap" Arnold was one of the first military aviators, and would eventually rise through the ranks to become the first (and only - the 5-star ranks were discontinued after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) General of the Air Force. He was also afraid of flying, due to being one of the first military aviators to be in a plane crash.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Water (aquaphobia/hydrophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Asumi in ''Manga/FutatsuNoSpica''.
* Tasuki of ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', who naturally is the first person overboard when the ship hits a violent storm. Additionally, {{vitriolic best bud|s}} Tamahome's preferred method of torment is dangling him over a body of water.
* Any and all Devil Fruit users in ''Manga/OnePiece'' have this to some degree, and with [[SuperDrowningSkills reason.]]
* Possibly Manga/{{Ranma|OneHalf}}, though it's less from actual fear of water and more from the annoyance of having his curse triggered. Ryoga definitely fears water, especially [[spoiler: when Akane's around]].
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Android 18, oddly enough.
* Aiko of ''Anime/OjamajoDoReMi''. The story is that she told her dad that she could put her head in the water. Then, they have a contest to find out who can put their head in the water. She drowned 10 seconds into the contest.
* Golem in ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' hates water. Justified because he's made of rock and would [[{{pun}} sink like a stone]].

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* Smudgy in ''Comicbook/MonicasGang'' takes this fear to the extreme of not taking baths, which originates his nickname.

[[AC:Films -- Animation]]
* Toaster, from ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'', due to [[ViewerGenderConfusion him]] being an electrical appliance, is actually afraid of water. For his other fear, see below.
* In ''Disney/BrotherBear 2'', Kenai's childhood friend Nita nearly drowned when they were younger. He helps her cross a lake at some point on the movie, and her fears fade away.
* Diego from ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' [[CatsHateWater has the fear of water]] in the second movie, despite the fact that he never showed fear of it before. But he gets over it with the help of one of his TrueCompanions.
* ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'': Stitch is too dense to swim, so he fears deep water. Naturally, he winds up living on an island with people who love to surf.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Claire in ''{{Aquamarine}}'', because her [[FreudianExcuse parents' deaths]] were water-related.
* In ''Film/FreddyVsJason'', Freddy is frustrated by finding out that Jason is invulnerable even in his subconscious, until he finds Jason's one buried fear: water. Considering that Jason's initial death as a little kid, which sparked off his entire series, was by drowning in Crystal Lake...yeah.
* One of the Mogwai rules in ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'': Never get them wet.
** In ''Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', Brain Gremlin dies in the same way as the Wicked Witch of the West does. He must be afraid of water, too.
* Chief Brody from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' is afraid of water. And a good deal of people after having seen the movie, for that matter.
* Susie, the little daughter of the hero in the original version of ''Film/{{Piranha}}''. With very good reason, in this case. [[spoiler: Although when the piranha attack the camp she's attending she swallows her fear to try and save two of the camp counselors - she manages to rescue one of them...]]
* Ari in Creator/TimBurton's ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified in that apes on the whole tend to be very poor swimmers]].
* Truman Burbank, ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' (although, to be fair, he was only afraid of ''the ocean'').

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic'', we meet dedicated "hydrophobes", who are raised with a deathly fear -- indeed, ''loathing'' (not hate, which is the opposite side of love) of water. This fear is so strong that they can pilot a hovering board over the ocean, since their aversion to water forces it away from them. Unfortunately most of them end up dying early, overcome with revulsion over the water in their own bodies.
* David Eddings features one particular character in the Literature/{{Belgariad}} / {{Malloreon}} series: Queen Layla of Sendaria. She has not so much ''aquaphobia'' but a specific form of ''megalophobia'' (fear of large objects): she is terrified of ''ships'' (more specifically, ships ''sinking''), to the point that she can actually faint if a ship moves the wrong way.
* Tobias from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. He says it's a bird thing.
** Which is not quite accurate, since he's a hawk. Most birds of prey will quite happily dive near or even in water to eat fish. Some even eat ''primarily'' fish.
** Perhaps, but not red-tailed hawks, which Tobias happens to be. They're not water-going birds, and especially not deep water, which is what Tobias is particularly scared of.
* ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'': [[Literature/{{Wicked}} "I'm meeeltiiing! I'm meeeltiiing!]] [[WickedWitch Oh, what a world!"]]
* Oddly enough, Data, the android of ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek TNG]]'' fame, gained a fear of water during the novelisation ''Metamorphosis'' in which he was turned human. (Yeah, it's that kind of book.) This fear is absent from the series. Probably because he can't, you know, actually ''drown'' (though the few encounters he has had with water lead to him sinking abruptly to the bottom due to his heavy weight, and having to spend several weeks draining out his servos.)
* Stephen Dedalus in Joyce's ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}'' is mentioned to be a hydrophobe, although this is probably symbolic of his antipathy toward baptism/Catholicism.
* Jayfeather from ''Literature/WarriorCats'' is afraid of water. [[spoiler:However, he manages to get over it in ''Night Whispers''.]]
* Tsarmina from the BrianJacques book ''[[Literature/{{Redwall}} Mossflower]]'' was deathly afraid of water. She dies in a duel with Martin when he forces her backwards into a lake. LaserGuidedKarma for you.
* Johanna Mason from ''Literature/TheHungerGames trilogy'' develops this in the third book, after the Capitol uses water to torture her.
* Hazel from ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus''. Justified because it's Neptune's territory and she's the daughter of Pluto.
* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's ''Literature/OctoberDaye'' novel ''Rosemary and Rue'', Toby panicks when she lands in the ocean -- since turning into a fish and recovering, she can't stand bodies of water.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Merton's sister Becky from ''BigWolfOnCampus''.
* Malcom Reed from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' has a fear of drowning that prevented him from carrying on his family's naval tradition. Oddly enough, this fear doesn't extend to the vacuum of space. Maybe he realized that [[SpaceIsAnOcean Space is NOT an ocean]].
* George Ikaruga from ''UltramanMebius'' isn't afraid of water ''per se'' (he's a good swimmer, in fact). He's specifically afraid of the ''Ocean''. Perhaps justified in his case, as when he was younger, something horrible would happen to him ''every time'' he went there. He eventually decided the Ocean just had it in for him.

[[AC:Toys]]
* Hewkii from ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}''. Other Po-Matoran and Le-Matoran are also shown to dislike water, although they don't seem to outright fear it like he did.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog is ''quite'' severely aquaphobic, an obvious LampshadeHanging of his SuperDrowningSkills in the games. Notably, in ''Anime/SonicX'', at the implication of being stuck on a boat for a few weeks, he actively ''passes out'' after a brief session of running back and forth in what's obviously panic.
** He's a lot like [[Disney/LiloAndStitch Stitch]].
* Raine Sage, ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''.
* Raz from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', because of a family curse.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Emma Emmerich is terrified of water thanks to a Childhood Trauma. Ironically, Hal stated she used to swim like a fish and it's hinted she could still do that.
* Ayako Katagiri in ''Franchise/TokimekiMemorial''. A fear very well known in the series' fandom, and milked for all its worth by the creators, [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine as antics-wise]], [[OddFriendship she's regularly paired with]] Nozomi Kiyokawa, the resident swimming-lover and champion (who, {{iron|y}}ically, suffers from a primal fear of her own, thunder).
* Lesley Lopicana in ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'', a SpiritualSuccessor of ''Tokimeki Memorial''. She's an {{Expy}} of Ayako, but unlike her where the origins of her fear were never explained, we get to know how Lesley got this fear of water (long short story - that you can read in the game's [[Characters/MitsumeteKnight Character Sheet]], - it's due to a Childhood Trauma).
* Chloe Valens from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia''.
* CJ from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' claims to be afraid of water at one point, after getting a discarded condom on his face while swimming as a child. Ironically, he's the first character in GTA not to suffer from SuperDrowningSkills.

[[AC: Web Original]]
* Carol Burke, Allen Birkman, and Sierra Manning of ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' v4 all suffer from aquaphobia. In Carol's and Allen's cases, they actually first woke up on the island near the ''beach'', causing them to freak out.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Alan Powers (The Brain), ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''. He gets over it after falling into a fountain.
* Tommy Pickles, ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'', "River Rats".
* This is one of the two things that Dick Daring from ''WesternAnimation/TheReplacements'' is scared of.
* Yoshi in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' cartoon is afraid of water.
** May have gotten a ContinuityNod later with the tendency of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'''s Yoshi to dissolve on contact with water.
** In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'', Mario become afraid of water after nearly drowning when he turned into a block of cement. But he overcomes it to save his friends and the underwater city.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' character The Tasmanian Devil, namely in his series ''WesternAnimation/TazMania''. "Taz hate water! Taz hate water!"
* Archie from ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans''.
* [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Heroic Finn]] is unfathomably afraid of the sea. [[spoiler: He eventually conquers that fear in order to rescue Jake.]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', Numbuh Four can't swim, so he's very afraid of water. Even [[CharacterDevelopment he learns how]], he still avoids doing it whenever possible.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin'', Grubby is afraid of the sea. This is because of an accident that happened when he was young.
* Toph Bei Fong from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' hates sailing for the same reason that she hates flying (see the section above).
* Blackarachnia from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', due to her being half-organic, for some reason is afraid of water.
** It may be because, as part-organic, she's now capable of ''drowning.''
* Due to his [[BizarreAlienBiology biology]], ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' is burned by water, and is therefore afraid of it until he learns that [[ItMakesSenseInContext coating himself in paste]] protects him. In fanon, he's often shown as still having a phobia of water.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'', the Human Torch--perhaps unsurprisingly--does not like getting wet at ''all'', and hates undersea missions with a passion. {{Atlantis}} episodes are therefore something of a trial for him.
* In the second episode of ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'', Chiro and Sparx are both revealed to have this fear. Both overcome it by the end of the episode but there's a hint of FridgeLogic that crops up when Sparx mentions the team all knew Chiro was afraid of water despite an earlier scene featuring Otto going on a spiel about being trapped underwater [[NightmareFuel that obviously made Chiro ''very'' uncomfortable.]]

[[AC:Real Life]]
* {{Cats|HateWater}}.
* People used to think rabies caused this and thus named it hydrophobia. In reality it simply causes you to choke when you try to drink water.
* Creator/NatalieWood was said to have been terrified of water. [[HarsherInHindsight She died by drowning.]]
* MichaelJordan has claimed that his biggest fear is water (because he can't swim).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fire (pyrophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Rita Rossi, the CuteMute from ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'', [[spoiler: because her parents died in a huge fire that broken in their circus, and poor little Rita saw them perish.]].
* Anita in ''[[Anime/ReadOrDie R.O.D. the TV]]'', with good reason. Exploited for [[BreakTheCutie maximum emotional effect]] during a [[KickTheDog particularly brutal scene]].
* [[spoiler: Aoba]] from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' has a rather strong fear of fire. However, he uses this to his advantage [[spoiler: in order to frame [[BigBrotherBully Izumi]] by setting his room on fire and making it seem like it was Izumi's fault because he forgot to unlit the cigarette he smoked.]] He plays this straight though after the events though.
* [[EverythingsSquishierWithCephalopods Ikaros Much]] from ''Manga/OnePiece'', due to his squid friend Daidaros burning to death in the sun.
* Barnaby Brooks in ''Anime/TigerAndBunny,'' due to the circumstances of [[spoiler: his parents' deaths.]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* J'onn J'onnz, the MartianManhunter of ''JLA'' fame. [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on who's writing him]], his "vulnerability" to fire has sometimes been portrayed as a psychological issue, rather than a full-blown KryptoniteFactor. (In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', they simply ignored it.)
** ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' chalked it up as a psychological fear, as he would stop fighting the moment a flamethrower appeared in range. Once Batman disabled the flamethrower J'onn was back to normal.
*** In ''ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier'', Batman observes this and tells J'onn: [[BetrayalInsurance "Make no mistake. I have a $70,000 sliver of a radioactive meteor to stop the one from Metropolis. All I need for you is a penny for a book of matches."]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]
* In ''Webcomic/CuantaVida'', the BLU Spy has a debilitating fear of fire due to an [[NoodleIncident unspecified incident]].

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* FrankensteinsMonster in some iterations, beginning with the 1931 Creator/BorisKarloff [[Film/{{Frankenstein1931}} movie]], in which Dr. Frankenstein's cruel assistant [[TheIgor Fritz]] taunts the chained-up monster with a torch.
** Parodied in ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'' when a blind hermit offers the monster a cigar and accidentally lights his thumb, giving him a perfectly understandable reason for his subsequent pyrophobia.
** On ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', Creator/PhilHartman played a recurring version of the character whose HulkSpeak catchphrase was "Fire bad!"
* Camille from ''Film/QuantumOfSolace''.
* [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] is sometimes shown to be afraid of fire (understandably), which leads to an immensely satisfying moment in [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 the first film]]...
** While in [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 the remake]] they ignore this completely due to his entire domain being filled with fire.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Sandor Clegane, a.k.a. the Hound, in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Quite a reasonable fear, as half of his face was burned as a child by [[CainAndAbel his evil older brother]]. He panics and flees King's Landing in the midst of a battle employing GreekFire, and eventually runs into a duel with a fire-god worshipper who wields a FlamingSword.
* ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'': Monkey.
* Harry Dresden of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', after his left hand is burned beyond use in ''Blood Rites'', becomes reluctant to even attempt fire magic at all. He eventually overcomes his fears and concerns by the end of ''Dead Beat'', though a villain in ''White Night'' mistakenly assumes he's still very afraid of fire and makes a failed assassination attempt based on that.
* Torak from the ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'' was terrified of fire. Kind of odd for a God to be terrified of ''anything'' unless one can see the future, as he can, and knows what's going to happen to him.
* Throughout his appearances in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novels, Mr. Slant the (zombie) lawyer is almost completely fearless, even when dealing with sociopathic criminals. As a result of being a well-preserved (and by necessity, extremely dry) corpse however, he is terrified by fire.
* In ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' the Scarecrow reveals to Dorothy that a "lighted match" is the only thing he's afraid of. Although, given that he's made of straw, can you really blame him? In [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]], the Wicked Witch of the West exploits this fear on several occasions.
--> '''Wicked Witch of the West:''' How about a little fire, Scarecrow?

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Zoe Graystone in ''Series/{{Caprica}}'', due to almost dying in a housefire as a child.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor, at least in his third incarnation.
* Shalimar Fox in ''MutantX''.
* During the flamethrower episode of ''Series/SonsOfGuns'', it's revealed that Will has been deathly afraid of fire since he was three, when the house he was sleeping in burned to the ground.
* Fox Mulder of ''Series/TheXFiles'', discussed in the episode "Fire". However, it was an issue for the episode and it never occurred again.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Rydia's fear of fire can be chalked up to Cecil and Kain's delivery [[DoomedHometown burning the village of Mist to the ground]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. [[spoiler:The village gets better; the people do not.]]
* The dragon in ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'' is afraid of fire, a fact Bobbin uses against her with either the Terror or Sleep draft to set her hoard -- transformed by him from gold into straw -- ablaze.
* It's hinted that Milla Vodello of ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is a pyrophobe due to [[spoiler:the orphanage where she worked burning down ''with the children inside it.'']]
* Heather in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' is afraid of fire. She comments that "it's scary somehow..."

[[AC:Web Animation]]
* At the height of the Napster controversy, the folks at Camp Chaos created a series of flash animations featuring Metallica's Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield. James, aside from being a caveman mentally, was also terrified of fire. So naturally, in their ''Celebrity "Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire"'' parody, he gets lit on fire.
** Probably alluding to the fact that Hetfield was badly burned by stage pyrotechnics during Metallica's 1992 tour with Guns N' Roses, thus proving that no matter how much they called Metallica a bunch of dicks, their detractors could still [[DudeNotFunny out-dick]] them rather easily.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Appa the Flying Bison grows a fear of fire in the episode "Appa's Lost Days".
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Torch Song", singer Cassidy developed a fear of fire after her ordeal with her ex-boyfriend-turned-supervillain Firefly.
* Lumiere from ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'', despite being turned into a ''candlestick holder''.
** He's made of ''wax''. In fact, at one point in the film he's in severe danger of being melted because of somebody sticking a burning torch in his face.
* Shere Khan from ''Disney/TheJungleBook''. At the end of the film, Mowgli chases him away by burning off his tail. Unfortunately, it's revealed in the sequel that burning off Khan's tail actually made him [[KnightofCerebus even angrier...]]
* ''Anime/TransformersArmada'': Hot Shot, who was forced to leave a friend behind in a fire because he'd passed out from the heat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Things in Nature]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Astrapophobia, Ceraunophobia, Brontophobia (fear of thunder and lightning) or Tonitrophobia (fear of just thunder): Haruhi from ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' has this (these) fear(s), after being discovered to be afraid of little else.
** Likewise, in the obscure, one-shot ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'' {{O|riginalVideoAnimation}}VA, Tails freaks out when lightning strikes.
* Himawari on ''Anime/WandabaStyle'' has a fear of running out of air while in space, which is bad, since she and the other members of GirlGroup Mix Juice are trying to get into space to perform a concert on the Moon.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* During filming of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', SeanBean was terrified of taking a helicopter to a filming location in the mountains. Enough that he took what to most people would be the far scarier option of climbing the mountain in full costume.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Rachel Creed in ''Literature/PetSematary'' suffers from serious necrophobia (fear of death). She can't even handle hearing the concept mentioned in her presence without freaking out.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* When ''Series/MythBusters'' looked at ways flu/cold virii could be spread, Kari Byron confessed to being something of a germophobe. She was the only one not to get "tagged" with Adam's fluorescent fake snot thanks to her previously developed skills at staying away from the ickies.
* Simon Tam of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is a cosmophobe (afraid of space), as first shown in the episode "Bushwacked."
* A.J. from ''Series/TheRiver'' has speluncaphobia, the fear of caves, thanks to having been in a mining accident.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* One of the player characters, Rikku from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has a phobia of lightning (astraphobia), which she gets over in the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 sequel]].
* Earthquakes (seismophobia) -- Miles Edgeworth from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney''. The first major crack we see in Edgeworth's stoic facade is that he turns into an absolute mess at the slightest of tremors. It's no better in ''Trials and Tribulations'', when [[spoiler: ''he passes out'' after an earthquake hits Hazakurain.]] It also extends to airplane turbulence (which can resemble tremors) and elevators. {{Justified|Trope}} in it being the result of a traumatic and tragic incident he experienced as a kid.
* Jonathan Ingram in ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}'' is a cosmophobe by his own admission, and also appears to show some level of claustrophobia. This clearly doesn't work in his favour when he has to leave the Moon via a material transport relay. Depending on the players' responses to Ed, and how long it takes the player to make the decision to leave, it will extend the action sequence. The first time you beg Jonathan to enter the pod, he will refuse.
* ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'s'' Timbersaw has severe dendrophobia (fear of trees) after [[WhenTreesAttack his hometown was wiped out by them]]. He's now on a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge one-man crusade]] [[NoMereWindmill against trees]].
-->'''Timbersaw:''' [[http://www.dota2wiki.com/images/1/10/Timb_rare_01.mp3 Someone once told me I needed to face fear to get over it, and I thought well why not take a step further and cut my fear into little pieces then set my fear on fire then throw the hot ash of my fear into a lake and then poison the lake. Simple!]]

[[AC:Web Comics]]
* Trees (dendrophobia) -- Durkon from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. This seems to be a [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame racial thing]].
* In ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld'', Denmark is afraid of nature itself, everything from butterflies to waterfalls. Curiously enough, he's just fine with domestic animals.
** He's unafraid of the sea, to the surprise of Norway and Sweden [[http://satwcomic.com/under-the-sea here.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Clowns (coulrophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Chibodee Crocket from ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. [[spoiler: He was kidnapped and then [[MissingMom left mother-less]] by [[MonsterClown terrorist clowns]] as a child, after all.]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Lewis in ''Comicbook/LadyMechanika''.
* {{Deadpool}}. He considers them the greatest threat to earth, after Galactus. Amusingly, his solo mission in ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' had him fighting an army of clowns in a circus.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* Columbus in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Bobby Pendragon in ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure''.
* Nita from ''Literature/YoungWizards''. Naturally, this comes up shortly before she has to dive into the mind of someone who represents himself using a clown.
* Nobody likes clowns. According to the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/MakingMoney'', that is the point. Their purpose is not to make you laugh, but to make you realize that however miserable you may be, [[ButtMonkey someone has it worse.]]
* The titular monster from ''Literature/{{It}}'' by Creator/StephenKing takes on the appearance of whatever its victims fear. One of IT's most well-known forms is that of a MonsterClown, though this image is not always immediately recognized as evil, and has been used to lure in young children. The clown in question is said to smell of boiled peanuts, cotton candy, animal dung, and rotting dead things.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/ModernFamily'': kind of a subversion. Phil thinks his fear of clowns is irrational by nature and has nothing to do with that time he found a dead clown in a field when he was a kid.
* Alan Shore in ''BostonLegal'', as we learn when he has a case involving a professional clown who shows up to court in full costume. Alan avoids looking directly at the man for fear of [[BringMyBrownPants publicly wetting himself.]]
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''s Sam Winchester remains freaked out by clowns even after years of fighting nearly every supernatural creature imaginable and a visit to Hell. According to his brother, he gets scared when seeing [[McDonalds Ronald McDonald]] on TV.
-->"Why did it have to be clowns?"
* Xander from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' -- [[EpiphanyTherapy he deals with it by punching the knife-wielding nightmare clown chasing him and tells off the clown for making bad balloon animals]].
* Kramer in ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''. Incidentally, his real life inspiration Kenny Kramer is a big fan of clowns.
* Booth from ''Series/{{Bones}}''. He once shot a plastic clown on the top of an ice cream truck, and a murderer posing as a clown (after the murderer found out he didn't like them).
* Sarah Jane Smith of ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''. (Mention of Creator/JohnnyDepp!)
** It's not clear if Ace has a true phobia about clowns, but she does think they're creepy.
* John Sheppard of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''.
* Overton in the '90s sitcom ''Series/LivingSingle''.
* Zak Bagans from ''GhostAdventures'' isn't fond of clowns. He briefly goes to a place that's right out of a coulrophobic's worst nightmare during the revisit to Goldfield, Nevada: a clown motel. Even the clerk at said motel doesn't like clowns.
* In ''Series/{{Haven}}'', Audrey Parker and [[spoiler: her counterpart, Audrey II,]] are terrified of a MonsterClown that nearly scared them to death when they were 6.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Barry Dejay in ''VideoGame/BackyardSports''. He plays worse on the Bling-Bling Brothers Circus in ''Backyard Basketball'' just because he is afraid of clowns.
* The players of ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' often ask for a Clowns powerset for the Mastermind (pet summing class based on minion-commanding villains), but are denied because Matt "Positron" Miller, the lead developer, is afraid of clowns.
* Nathan Drake from the ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' series. At the end of ''Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'', [[spoiler: Elena]] asks him on a scale of 1 to 10 how scared he was that [[spoiler: she would die]], he gives it a 3 or 4. Guess what was at 10?

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Ben in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}''. [[spoiler: He faced his fear eventually.]]
* Wakko Warner in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. In Wakko's case, the ''clowns'' are the ones who will get the worst out of it. Mr. Plotz also has this phobia.
* Billy of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' thinks clowns are plotting to [[OverlyLongGag "DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL!"]]
** Likewise, in ''Big Boogey Adventure, Billy's given a [[MixAndMatchCritters spider clown mailman]] as a hybridization of all his fears courtesy of Horror's Hand. Since Billy must battle his own demons before touching the Hand, Mandy's laser rifle has no effect on said aberration.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]] suffered a temporary case of this when he was younger, no thanks to the badly-crafted clown bed that Homer made for him. Origin of the phrase, ''"[[MadnessMantra Can't sleep, clown will eat me.]]"''
-->"If you were to die before you sleep... '''''[[LaughingMad HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!]]'''''
* Tino from ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' had been afraid of clowns for a long time and just so happened to face his fear the week that... 1. The Carnival was in town 2. The pizza place had a clown theme and 3. There were a bunch of clowns around.
-->"Mutant clowns from the HollowEarth! They're real!! ''WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!''
* Dick Daring from ''WesternAnimation/TheReplacements''.
* Velma Dinkley in ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'' at least. A MonsterClown showing up caused her to swap personalities with Shaggy (who was concentrating on winning a mini golf contest so he went all Velma-esque). They reverted eventually.
* Chuckie from ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', although they come second to "the guy on the oatmeal box."
** One episode reveals that Didi is also afraid of clowns as she screams at one to get away from her at a carnival.
* Caillou's sister Rosie on ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'', but Caillou helps her to get over it.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy admitted to being afraid of clowns.
* Jack Spicer from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' was revealed by one of the {{big bad}}s to be afraid of clowns, complete with a visual aid. To be fair, they looked like {{monster clown}}s.
* Toaster, from ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'', for some reason is actually afraid of a MonsterClown firefighter as revealed in a NightmareSequence he had about halfway through the film. For his other fear, see above.
* Creepie from ''WesternAnimation/GrowingUpCreepie'' is terrified of clowns. This being the girl that lives with bugs and relaxes in a graveyard.
* Marc Clark of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez''. Unlike his fear of heights mentioned above, it's never clarified if he ever gets of it.

[[AC:Real Life]]
* Lots of people who watched the mini-series ''Literature/{{It}}'', where Creator/TimCurry plays a murderous clown, ended up developing fear of clowns. Especially if they saw it as children or teens.
** Creator/JohnnyDepp is scared of clowns too.
* Two to one odds that Creator/HeathLedger's interpretation of SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' will be the cause of a lot of clown-based nightmares.
** Any incarnation of the Joker is bound to have caused this reaction at some point or another.
* Creator/LonChaney, Sr., the "Man of a Thousand Faces" and perhaps the single most iconic horror actor from the silent film era, once made the observation that "Nobody laughs at a clown at midnight."
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy John Wayne Gacy]] certainly doesn't help make clowns any more reassuring, between his former persona as "Pogo" and his artwork.
* Creator/DanielRadcliffe has admitted to being scared of clowns.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Women (gynophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* The male lead from ''Manga/GirlsBravo''. Then his so-called rival (?) is terrified of men (arrhenphobia).
* Yamcha from ''Manga/DragonBall''. He wanted the Dragon Balls to actually ''cure'' this phobia, since he also wanted a girlfriend but was too terrified to ask any girl out. He got over himself after hanging out with Bulma, though.
* Haine from ''Manga/{{DOGS|BulletsAndCarnage}}''- the only girl he can stand to touch him is CuteMute Nill.
* At the beginning of the series, most (if not all) of the male cast of ''Anime/{{Vandread}}'' are scared of women. This is understandable, since one of the main plot points is that men and women have been segregated for years, to the point that neither gender really believes that the other exists anymore. To men, women have become something akin to horrible, frightening monsters of legend.
* The Haou-Sou in Manga/{{Onidere}} are all afraid of the opposite sex, with two of them being male.
* Shutaro Mendou is afraid of one ''specific woman''--his fiancee, Asuka Mizunokoji. Due to her intense strength (she even tore a tank apart and made it into a makeshift armor suit with her bare hands) and athleticism (she could run 100 meters in 12 seconds with same armor suit--200 kg, or 440 pounds) a simple "light hug" from her causes multiple broken bones and internal injuries. Since Shuutaro is rather terrified of being crushed, it seems unlikely that this relationship will ever be consummated.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* Jughead from ''Franchise/ArchieComics''.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Raj from ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', while not afraid of women per se, has a comedic inability to speak to women while sober.
* Dougal in ''Series/FatherTed''. Father Jack is also terrified of Nuns.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Sexy Women (venustaphobia) -- Laharl from ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}''.
* Lon'qu from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. He'll eventually make an exception for whichever female you decide to pair him with.
* Guy from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', due to a '''VERY''' traumatic event in his childhood.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Thog from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is defeated by an illusion of a female orc. Haley takes offense that his fear of "pretty girls" doesn't seem to extend to those of other species.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Blood (hemophobia)]]
-->''See also AfraidOfBlood''

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Tsunade from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', after [[spoiler: her lover Dan died and she couldn't do anything about it]]. Should have been quite a cramp on her superninja-doctor career... until she overcame it during a high-stakes battle at a point of near mortal defeat, thus leading to overcoming her opponent [[spoiler: Kabuto]] as well (this must be a trope somewhere).
** Also Gaara when Sasuke punctured his chest and saw his own blood for the first time he freaks out.
* Heart, from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''. Like Ranma, he flips out and becomes a berserker if he sees his own blood.
* Naga the White Serpent from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' is also quite afraid of blood, [[spoiler: since she walked on the place where her mother was assassinated, which was all blood-splattered]].
** Made even worse by how [[spoiler: she killed the assassin... via using a RazorFloss-like spell, thus splattering the room ''in even more blood''.]]

[[AC:Films -- Animated]]
* Donkey in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''. He has no problem with his best friend being an ogre, and handles the fire breathing dragon quite well, but when Shrek gets an arrow to the butt and Donkey sees blood, he faints.

[[AC:Films -- Live Action]]
* In the film ''TheDarwinAwards'', this is the reason why Joseph Fiennes's character gets demoted from his job as a detective.
* In William Castle's ''Film/TheTingler'', the theater owner's mute wife is seen to have an intense fear of blood when Creator/VincentPrice cuts his hand on a broken cup - this is exploited later in the movie.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* You wouldn't expect it from someone with his career choice or hobby, but ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' expresses considerable unease about blood. Given his HarmfulToMinors backstory, can't really blame him.
* Bella from ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' isn't afraid of hanging around werewolves or vampires, but she faints at the sight of blood... a weakness that suddenly disappears when the plot requires it in ''Breaking Dawn''.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* DocMartin.
* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'': In an episode where the enemy is using a fear-enhancing weapon, Damphousse is revealed to have a fear of blood. Perhaps a bit ironic for a [[SemperFi Marine]].
* [[Series/{{Frasier}} Niles Crane]] faints when he even sees a ''tiny cut on a finger''.

[[AC:Web Comics]]
* Abel from ''[[WebComic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_627.php is hemophobic]].

[[AC: Web Original]]
* Liam "Brook" Brooks, a ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' v4 character suffers from this. Which is kind of a problem in a DeadlyGame where you have to kill...

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'', Jonesy is afraid of blood ever since a childhood nosebleed incident.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Numbuh Four is hemophobic, fainting at the mere sight of blood.
* Chuckie's dad Chaz from ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' faints upon seeing Tommy cut his finger open after the usually brave toddler rescues a baby bird from being squished by a jogger.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': One of Doctor Nick's many undoctorlike traits.
* Peter from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' might be implied to be this in two instances, both cutaways. The first is in "Padre de Familia", where he, as a nanny, accidentally crushes two cute children he was supposed to babysit. His response? He vomits all over their bloody corpses, puts them under their bed, and exits through the window in tears. The other is in "Peter's Daughter", where Peter, who becomes overprotective of Meg after she nearly drowns in a flood, breaks down crying from repeatedly smashing [[AlphaBitch Connie D'Mico]]'s face into the fire extinguisher case after she insults Meg.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Men (Androphobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' has Asuka Mizunokoji, the sister of Tobimaro Mizunokoji. She's isolated according to the Mizonokoji family's tradition, from any and all males from the moment of her birth until the age of 16, at which time an omiai will be held for her to get married. As such, even her brother was unaware of her existence until then. Because of this isolation (and the fact the first male she met was the lecherous Ataru Moroboshi) she is extremely timid and deathly afraid of males. Now whenever she sees one, she pushes him away, screams "Eek! A maaan!" ("Aa~! Otokoo~!") and runs in terror at high speed from all males, not heeding any obstacles unfortunate to be in her path (such as buildings). She is, thanks to her daily training and the genetics she inherited from her mother, insanely strong (once tearing a completely armored tank apart and fashioning it into a makeshift suit of armor on herself with her bare hands), as well as very athletic (being able to run 100 metres within 12 seconds, while wearing her 200 kilogram suit of armor). While engaged to Shutaru Mendou at the omiai to end the Mendou-Mijunokoji rivalry, her strength even means a simple "light hug" from her causes multiple broken bones and internal injuries. It seems unlikely that this relationship will ever be consummated, as Shuutaro is rather terrified of being crushed.
* In ''Manga/GirlsBravo'', the eventual BigBad Yukina has the same allergic reaction to men as the male lead Yukinari has to women. She's a BrokenBird as a result. She also has superpowers. It's not a good combo. In the last episode, she gets over it thanks to Yukinari and promptly becomes his (second) StalkerWithACrush. Unfortunately for Yukinari, he hasn't gotten over ''his'' phobia yet.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ghosts (phasmophobia)]]

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Having a character who's ''very'' scared of ghosts and anything supernatural is often a RunningGag in anime. Double the fun if the chara's otherwise unflappable.
** Some examples are: Sakura Kinomoto (''Manga/CardcaptorSakura''), Kaoru Kaidoh (''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis''), Hiromi Yamazaki and Takeo Kumagami (''Anime/{{Patlabor}}''), Ritsuko Takahashi (''Jigoku Sensei Nuubee''), Madoka Ayukawa (''Anime/KimagureOrangeRoad''), Alfred F. Jones/America (''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia''), and Rockman (''[[Anime/MegaManNTWarrior Rockman.EXE Beast]]''). One of the best is Brook from ''Manga/OnePiece'', who is terrified of ghosts and the like in spite of the fact that he is a ''[[DemBones FREAKING SKELETON]],'' reanimated thanks to hitting big in the SuperpowerLottery.
* Hikaru Himuro from ''Anime/DragonDrive'' also has that fear. Unfortunately, Chibi is a victim of his fear, as he grabs on to Chibi's tail for some reason (maybe a reflex to help calm himself?), and doesn't let go when he passes out from fear, much to both Chibi and Reiji's annoyances.
* The ActionGirl Ran Mouri of ''Manga/DetectiveConan''. In her case, it's kinda justified: she fears them not because of the supernatural stuff, but because if she ever was under attack from them, her physical strength would be useless against them.
* Liz Thompson from ''Manga/SoulEater'' is afraid of ghosts. Not helpful when her job/homework requires her to fight them, and odd considering she's something [[EquippableAlly supernatural]] herself.
** In contrast, her death god teammate is afraid of completely mundane things - see 'Various'.
* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' anime, when Naruto heard that one his missions has possibility of ghosts being involved, he curled into a ball which odd when didn't back down against the Kyuubi.
* Jonouchi Katsuya from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' has such an intense fear of the supernatural in general (Ghosts included) that he actually passes out ''twice'' as a result of them -- Once during the manga's version of an AmusementParkOfDoom and again before his duel against 'Ghost Kotsuzuka'. [[spoiler: He wins the duel after being woken up in the end.]]
* Chizuru Yoshida from ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke''.
* Misaki from ''Manga/KaichouWaMaidSama''.
* Both Hazuki and Momoko from ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi''.
* Skuld from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' is afraid of ghosts, which is surprising (and funny) considering that she's a [[PhysicalGod goddess]].
* Veronica of ''Manga/FrankenFran'' is an ArtificialHuman built for assassination and bodyguard duties. She also recoils in fear at the prospect of ghosts.
* Cilan from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' ''Best Wishes'' has a huge fear of Ghost-type Pokemon. He tends to zigzag around this trope, because while he's not scared of the Ghost Pokemon once it shows itself to be the cause of items moving around, the mere thought of being around them apparently creeps him out. Special mention in [=BW029=] when he freaks out and screams like a girl when the Litwick were controlling the items in the haunted mansion.
* Mio and Sawako from ''Manga/KOn''

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} has an admitted fear of ghosts. (Or, "Evil spiriks" as he calls them.)

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', the Tin Woodsman claims that he's [[BadLiar not afraid of spooks]]; the Cowardly Lion is a lot more honest.

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]
* ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'': [[spoiler: ''Takeru'']], despite being able to slaughter dozens of Gedoushu, ''still'' faints at the sight of an amusement park haunted house!

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Luigi from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is deathly afraid of ghosts (and possibly Waddle Dees as shown in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Brawl''). Ironically, he has to fight ''hordes'' of them when he [[ADayInTheLimelight gets his own game:]] ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' and its sequel, ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon''. [[spoiler:By the end of the second game, however, [[FaceYourFears he has managed to shake off his fear of ghosts]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming and actually adopted the polterpup encountered at times in the game as a pet]]]].
** Yoshi is afraid of ghost ''houses''. And fortresses. And BigBad castles. And switch palaces. Yeah, Yoshi's a coward.
*** Perhaps he's just [[{{Claustrophobia}} doesn't like going indoors]]?
** In spite of this, two bosses in ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' and one in the remake are ghosts. Also in both games, one Yoshi's relay leg consists [[BornUnlucky entirely of fortresses]] while another has [[BornUnlucky all castles]].
* Yukari Takeba from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' is also afraid of ghosts.
* When [[TheStoic Roxis]] was still a freshman during the early parts of ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlrevis'', he was, er, ''traumatized'' (he was ''foaming'' at the mouth!) by Pamela, the school's resident CuteGhostGirl. Since then, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration he would have a hard time searching for items anywhere that could possibly be haunted (ranked as Super Hard for him), which, incidentally, are ranked Super Easy for Pamela]].
* Luso from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' revealed his fear of ghosts when the clan must defeat a group of Undead. Adelle teased him afterwards.
* Youmu Konpaku from ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' is scared of ghosts -- which is ironic, because she just happens to be [[HalfHumanHybrid half-ghost]] herself, and has a CuteGhostGirl as a mistress.
* Tear Grants from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' is scared of ghosts despite being a {{Kuudere}}.
* [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Rita Mordio]] ''really'' hates ghost-ships.
* [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Naked Snake]] is terrified of anything involving the undead. Bats make him think of Dracula, and merely mentioning Dracula is enough to give him nightmares. Because Creator/HideoKojima loves to screw with his own character's minds, Naked Snake gets to face the ghosts of ''every person he's ever killed in the game.'' It's a little unsettling for us, the players, but it's horrific for him.
** And in the sequel, ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Peace Walker]]'', we get more ghosts in some bonus levels. When Chico, a fan of cryptozoology, starts describing an optional boss as an "undead dinosaur" brought back to life by Haitian zombie-makers, Snake's phobias kick right back in and he starts trying to rationalize it as just an "ordinary" dinosaur that happens to be skeletal and immune to conventional weapons.
* Ragna the Bloodedge's Joke Ending in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift'' reveals that he is terrified of ghosts. So his joke ending turns him and most of the cast into ghosts. It's canon too; he is freaked out by Sena, one of the personalities that make up Platinum the Trinity, when Sena threatens to haunt him for the rest of his life in an attempt to mooch a meal off of Ragna. To top it all off, the true form of the BigBad Terumi is a creepy grinning green ghost.
* Princess Pitts in ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo'' possesses a lady-like terror of monsters and the like. As Chibi-Robo, you can use a Ghost suit to help train her to overcome her fear, though it takes a while and she faints a couple times initially.
* Knuckles the Echidna of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'', at least in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''.
* Judging from what she says about the Old Chateau (a place where Ghost Pokemon and actual ghosts lurk), Gardenia, the Eterna City Gym Leader from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' has this phobia. (Oddly enough, if you challenge her with actual Ghost Pokemon on your team, it doesn't make any difference.)
** Of course, seeing as there are a ''lot'' of attacks associated with Ghost Pokemon that are associated with fear and darkness (like Nightmare and Dream Eater, to name only two), and the PokeDex entries for them tend to make some rather unpleasant claims (which even if untrue, would give them a bad reputation) you can hardly blame anyone for being afraid of them.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Shaggy and Franchise/ScoobyDoo.
* In ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', similar to the Franchise/ScoobyDoo "Velma too afraid of clowns to solve the case" example above, Penny and Brain are at first too afraid of ghosts to investigate MAD's base (and keep Gadget out of trouble) in "The Haunted Castle. Gadget, who doesn't share this fear, is actually pretty competent (proving he's not ''always'' TooDumbToLive) throughout the whole episode -- though, thanks to Gadget actually showing good parenting for once (part of that whole aforementioned "competence" bit), Penny quickly gets over her fear, and does her usual investigations herself. Still, the episode somewhat breaks type by having both Penny and Gadget solving the case.
* Yoshi is afraid of ghosts in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' cartoon, a LampshadeHanging of his refusing to enter ghost houses in the actual game.
* Scootaloo in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' confesses to Rainbow Dash that she is afraid of ghost ''stories'' but did not want to admit it sooner for fear that she'd make her upset.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* During interviews where ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' is the topic, Creator/RickMoranis, known for his role as Louis Tully in the movies, claims to be afraid of ghosts.
-->"Yeah, ghosts. Scare the pants off me. The polyester pants off me."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Darkness (nyctophobia)]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Mankind has always feared the darkness, so he scrapes away at its edges with fire.]]
* Mametchi from ''VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}}'' is afraid of the dark due to an accident when he was young, as revealed in TheMovie.
* [[DarkMagicalGirl Yugi]] from ''Anime/TenchiInTokyo'' has been terrified of the dark ever since her playtime with monsters caused enough [[NonMaliciousMonster massive property damage]] to get her entombed alive for over three thousand years.
* Shutaro Mendou of ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' is afraid of both the dark and tight spaces, though this was accidentally caused by locking his child form in a large pickling jar [[NiceJobBreakingItHero while trying to ''cure him of said phobias.'']] As long as a girl's in sight, though, he's not ''claustrophobic'' as long as she can see HIM. If she CAN'T see him, often by putting a bell over him (and combining his phobias) he'll either break the bell out of terror-induced strength, or scream "It's cramped! It's dark! I'm scared!" over and over again until he is freed from confinement (as it often is in the anime).

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Toni, the punk-loving sister of 1982 ''Film/{{Alone in the Dark|1982}}'s'' protagonist is revealed to be afraid of the dark. It is also hinted to be so strong that it forced her to go to a mental institution in the past.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Sandry from Tamora Pierce's ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series is afraid of the dark and always sleeps with a nightlight after being locked in a storeroom. She has a panic attack in the first book when she and her friends are trapped underground during an earthquake.

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]
* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' Well, are you? Frank is.
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': Spencer Reid claims to be afraid of the dark "because of the inherent absence of light."
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': But it's not the dark, it's Vashta Nerada. These are microscopic creatures that tend to disguise themselves as shadows. Once you get too near them, you'll be killed instantly. The Doctor tells that these creatures are the reason so many races fear the dark.
* Winston on ''Series/NewGirl''.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/AlanWake'': Alice has a crippling fear of the dark. And don't tell me you didn't flip on a few lights yourself after/while playing through the game.
* Daniel from ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' has a bad fear of the dark after an incident from his childhood. Staying in the dark too long makes his sanity lower and causes hallucinations, blurred vision, and teeth grinding. Too bad they didn't have very good lighting in 1839.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* One of Chuckie's top 3 fears on ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''.
-->'''Chuckie:''' This isn't just regular-plain-old scary, Tommy. This is THE DARK!
* Toph from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was born stone blind so she only has theoretical knowledge of what darkness and[=/=]or it's absence even is. However her [[DisabilitySuperpower tremorsense]] is rendered useless when she is not in contact with earth, stone, or metal (as well as if the soles of her feet are covered or damaged) and she does not like such situations ''at all''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Various (tend towards the weird)]]

[[AC:General]]
* In some implementations, the InnocentFanserviceGirl might have vestiphobia (fear of clothing) as an attempt to [[JustifiedTrope justify things]]. [[MostWritersAreMale Don't believe it.]]
* [[AfraidOfNeedles Needles (aichmophobia)]].
* [[ShellShockedVeteran Sufferers of PTSD]] will often have generalized anxiety, including ligyrophobia, the fear of loud noises.

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* In a ''Anime/YuGiOhGX 3''-parter, it is revealed that vampires scare the crap out of Daitokuji-sensei. Guess who was the VillainOfTheWeek in all 3 episodes? [[spoiler: He may have been lying, however. He was secretly a member of the Seven Stars, a group that Camula also belonged to. They were only seen as a group in one brief scene (in shadow), and it is not known if the individual members actually helped each other at all.]]
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Death The Kid's SuperOCD seems to mainly manifest as a fear of asymmetry (sometimes it gives him panics attacks and HeroicBSOD, sometimes it acts as a BerserkButton).
* Celty from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' is afraid of ''space aliens'' for some reason. [[RuleOfCute (Probably because it's adorable).]] She also develops a fear of police – traffic cops in particular – later in the series.
* The ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' anime gives Sanosuke a crippling fear of trains (which pops up in every {{Filler}} episode and NonSerialMovie that involves riding a train), as well express a suspicion of cameras, fearing that it'll steal his soul.
** TruthInTelevision on both fears, as a lot of Japanese were still a bit creeped out of said Western inventions at the time, even with Japanese-trained photographers in regards to cameras.
* Miyuki Takara of ''Manga/LuckyStar'' really hates dentists.
* Goku from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is terrified of needles, this came after he got a shot after his first fight with Vegeta. Sorta justified: he had never gotten a shot in his life until then.
* In ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', Austria loathes any sea creatures.
** Also, Seychelles hate the cold to the point of collapsing in Cuba's arms after walking in the snow for a while, despite wearing a huge coat. JustifiedTrope due to the very warm Seychellois climate.
* Ryoshi Morino in ''LightNovel/OokamiSan'' has extreme scopophobia (fear of being seen or stared at); he shrinks down into a cringing ball and covers his face whenever people look at him.
* {{Jesus}} in ''Manga/SaintYoungMen'' has a phobia of salespeople, which he confesses to Buddha was the real reason for his famous freakout in the temple. Apparently he was trying to hide under the chair, 'used too much force', and when people rounded on him for an explanation as to why he threw the chair he was so berserk he screamed at them all about how this was supposed to be a place of worship.
* Baikinman from ''{{Franchise/Anpanman}}'', being an alien bacterium, is terrified of soap. Contact with it reduces him to the size of a fly. Likewise, Mushibaikinman, a cavity from the same species as Baikinman is afraid of toothpaste, as it has the same effect on him. Interestingly, they're the only members of their species to have this weakness.
* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Hyouka Kazakiri is terrified of Touma Kamijo, despite him being one of the nicest guys on the planet and her having a crush on him. [[spoiler: It is because she is an artificial angel, and she subconsciously sensed Touma's right hand, the [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]], which would erase a supernatural being from existence on contact. When Touma learns this, he assures her that her fear is a good thing, because the fear of death proves that a being is alive]]. She somewhat gets over her fear when Touma saves her several times and assures her that he would never willingly harm her.
* As mentioned above, Sakaki from ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' is scared of horseflies, but also of thunder, earthquakes, and even the mechanical guards at construction sites.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* The Earth-2 Franchise/{{Batman}} suffered an attack from the Scarecrow which caused him to hallucinate his greatest fear. It was fear of being alone, and he hallucinated his friends vanishing before his eyes.
* In his Brazilian Comic book stories, Jose Carioca is so lazy that he's often depicted as having an outright phobia of work. That would maybe be "tripaliophobia".
* In ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', the villain Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash is scared off by ''a fabric store''. Apparently it brings up bad childhood memories.
* In Creator/GeoffJohns' ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', Superboy and Beast Boy have a phobia of doctors, due to both of them being experimented on as kids. Beast Boy in particular has a special hatred for needles.
* In a Batman / Comicbook/JudgeDredd crossover graphic novel, Judge Death was subjected to Scarecrow's fear-inducing gas, and hallucinated being mobbed by (shudder) ''[[TastesLikeDiabetes cuddly stuffed animals and cartoon ponies]]''.
* Lucy from ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', in her role as a nickel psychiatrist, once diagnosed Charlie Brown as having pantophobia, "the fear of everything". He fervently agreed. This gag was repeated in ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas''.
* Another character from a comic strip who is obviously afraid of everything is Wade from ''ComicStrip/USAcres''. In fact, in the segment of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', Orson read a letter addressed to Wade that asked why he was afraid of everything, and it caused Wade to panic. When Orson asked why he panicked, Wade said, "I was afraid he's right."
* ''{{Zatanna}}'' has a phobia regarding puppets. It turns out, there is a very good reason for this phobia.
* [[Characters/{{Superman}} Superboy-Prime]], despite being an over-the-top VillainSue, is deathly afraid of [[TheFlash Bart Allen]] ever since the latter trapped him in the Speed Force during ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis''.
* [[Characters/TheFlash Heatwave]] has cryophobia, fear of the cold.

[[AC:{{Fanfic}}]]
* In ''Webcomic/MotherlyScootaloo'', a MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Tumblr comic, while Scootaloo's guardian Sandy gets along fine with unicorns, she has a self-admitted phobia of their magic.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' Fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Progress}}'', [[PhysicalGod Princess Luna]] ends up mortified of ''baseballs'' after getting hit in the face by every last foul ball in a baseball game due to a spell gone hilariously wrong. Some time later, she watched Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}[[note]]An infamous DarkFic about Pinkie Pie brutally torturing, murdering and baking Rainbow Dash[[/note]] on tv, and becomes terrified of all things pink as well. Though she manages to get over that one in time to hang with Pinkie Pie later.
* Similar to the above, Delilah from ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfSpyroANewDawn'' is deathly afraid of cupcakes after the "Cupcakes Incident", which apparently involved a run in with the ''Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}'' version of Pinkie Pie (Delilah is a DimensionalTraveller). Though it doesn't come up in ''that'' fanfic, since cupcakes don't exist in the universe it takes place in, a letter she gets from Pinkie Pie (the real one, who she's best friends with) tells her to call ahead before she visits so her friends won't have them at a surprise party due to her phobia.
* Rarity's character arc in the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' involves getting over the phobia of gems she'd gotten from Discord's MindRape of her. Many other ponies throughout Equestria got similar phobias as a result of their own {{Mind Rape}}s, including Prince Blueblood being terrified of the sun, Big Macintosh is terrified of the family dog, Sweetie Belle is scared of her dolls, etc.
** [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulRename The One and Only]] [[SixthRanger Trixie]] is revealed to have a crippling fear of Ursas after the Ursa Minor incident in Ponyville. This, rather embarrassingly, rears its head when they encounter two cute, teddybear-sized ones who'd be "fixed" by Princess Gaia's RealityWarping. It scares her so badly that it takes Pinkie Pie singing her a rendition of "Giggle At The Ghosties" to calm her down. Understandably, the others don't laugh or mock her about it, as they know and understand why it scares her so badly.]]
* In ''Fanfic/{{Renegade}}'', Shepard has a specific fear of the alien Scrin, and for good reason: she's the sole survivor of the Scrin assault on Akuze, and got an up-close and personal encounter with Buzzers that left her horribly scarred. When the Scrin [[spoiler: attack the GDI Embassy on the Citadel]], her reaction to close-quarters combat is to go from her normally controlled and unflappable demeanor to shouting and screaming at them.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In Australian horror film ''Primal'', one of the protagonists is revealed to be claustrophobic early in the film, when her friends find a tunnel through a mountain to the other side, where they're headed to see some ancient cave paintings. She has to drive the long way around after she gets a panic attack from entering. Later, the tunnel becomes the only viable way to escape the monsters, as the car's wheels are destroyed and the monsters won't go near the tunnel.
* Sid Phillips, the main villain of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', actually gained a fear of toys at the end of the film as a result of a particular cowboy doll coming to life right in front of him.
* Buddy in the first ''Film/AirBud'' is subtly but strongly implied to be fearful of newspapers and loud thumps (often making it a point to retrieve the newspapers and bury them in the former and barking loudly during a court room when the Judge used his mallet regarding the latter). Considering the fact that he was exposed to them frequently by his former, extremely abusive owner, his fear is perfectly justified.
* Natasha Romanov of ''Film/TheAvengers'' is a huge badass who has no problem allowing herself to get captured, lying to a god, and flying around New York City on the back of a hostile alien. She gets stuck with the Hulk, which renders all her ninja fighting skills and mental trickery useless. Judging by her reaction, it's definitely a weak spot. It's justified, as the Hulk is [[NighInvulnerability nearly invincible, shrugging off bullets that were meant to destroy jets]], [[LetsYouAndHimFight and going toe to toe with]] Film/{{Thor}}.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Fear itself (phobiaphobia) -- Literature/HarryPotter seems to have it... well, sort of. (Well, to be specific, boggarts look like Dementors to him, and Dementors are living embodiments of fear.)
** Going by the shape boggarts take, Hermione is afraid of flunking her classes (or maybe failure in general). She was so terrified of this, she wasn't able to use the Riddikulus spell to fight it.
** Another example, Professor Lupin is afraid of the full moon. [[spoiler: Justified because he's a werewolf.]]
* The protagonist of Creator/IainBanks' ''Literature/UseOfWeapons'' has an odd phobia of chairs. It makes a lot of sense when you learn what the original chair was made of.
* Throughout the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, Rincewind has developed a violent fear of many things, some justified (the Things of the Dungeon Dimensions), some not (having good things happen to him, because it usually means something worse is coming along later), but the thing he seems to dread the most is plots, because if a plot starts happening anywhere near him, [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality eventually he will get sucked into it]]. Rincewind was afraid of playing football in Unseen Academicals, but then so was every other wizard except Ridcully.
** Meanwhile, Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen have swords that [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings glow blue in the presence of lawyers]], and fear them until they learn of the concept of defense attorneys.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's "The Tower of the Elephant", Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian is paralyzed with horror at the sight of the EldritchAbomination. (He's young in this story.)
** Conan is also afraid of wizards and magic in general, which a common theme in stories about the character. (At the very least, he doesn't trust them.)
* Literature/CiaphasCain ('''[[RunningGag HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!]]''') is scared of a lot of things-[[EverythingTryingToKillYou with good reason]]-but the very mention of Necrons sends him into pants-wetting panic. They are the one enemy he will not face in direct combat. Given that Necrons are [[OmnicidalManiac all-hating]] [[RoboticPsychopath mechanical]], and [[{{Determinator}} relentless]] AbusivePrecursors, this fear seems less like a phobia and more of a symptom of possessing common sense.
** The short story ''Echoes of the Tomb'' details his first encounter with the Necrons, they slaughtered everyone else on the tomb complex and took off two of his fingers as someone took a fatal shot for him, he only survived by jumping through a warp portal that happened to lead to a Necron ship boarded by Space Marines.
* Several characters in Creator/DeanKoontz's ''FalseMemory'' have phobias. Susan Jagger is agoraphobic and fears leaving her house. Martie Rhodes is autophobic, meaning she's afraid of ''herself'' (specifically she's afraid that she might commit a violent act). And the nameless wife of an Internet billionaire is terribly afraid of KeanuReeves; she can't look at pictures of him and can't watch television because she might see a commercial for one of his movies.
* The closest to [[KarmaHoudini karmic retribution]] [[{{Ripliad}} The Talented Mister Ripley]] receives is that he develops a fear of cops for the rest of his life. He can never look at another cop again without a brief flash of alarm as he thinks that the cop has discovered his crimes.
* Dan Brown's Robert Langdon is severely claustrophobic as a result of almost drowning in a well as a child. He regularly has to enter confined spaces in the novels, including being imprisoned in a coffin in ''AngelsAndDemons'' and actually faces drowning in tiny space in ''TheLostSymbol'' [[spoiler: it turns out to be a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing#Total_liquid_ventilation total liquid ventilation]] system, but he didn't know that]].
* ''Literature/AdventureHunters'': Lisa is terrified of gargoyles because of a bad encounter with them in her childhood.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Beards (pogonophobia) -- Frank, from ''Series/TheAdventuresOfLanoAndWoodley''. ''[[ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere Everyone]]'' he runs into throughout the episode in question has a beard. It's cured at the end, though.
* Noise -- Leonard Hatred in ''LookAroundYou'', invented "Psilence", a type of liquid skin that blocks the ears, as a response to being subjected to loud noises all his life. (Unfortunately the mental instability caused by his condition ultimately led him to attack Sir Prince Charles at an award ceremony.)
* Tommy from ''BigWolfOnCampus'' is afraid of ending up alone due to people finding out about his lycanthropy. And Merton is scared of monster movies (which is kind of weird, because he's a Goth).
* Balloons (globophobia) -- Lacey [[spoiler:and Davis]] in an episode of ''Series/CornerGas''. Also, by the end of that episode we find out that [[spoiler:Brent]] seems to have a fear of ''globes''.
** Wanda's implied [[spoiler:agoraphobia (fear of open space)]]. It's especially ironic as she lives in Saskatchewan, which has nothing but open space.
* As revealed on ''Series/AttackOfTheShow'', co-host OliviaMunn is also afraid of balloons. Needless to say, fellow co-host Kevin Pereira takes so much delight in tormenting her whenever the subject comes up.
* Embarrassment: Richard Hammond. "I have several recurring nightmares. One in which I am presenting a radio show and can't work the desk, another in which I find myself on stage with a truly catastrophic band. I am only waiting now for ''Series/TopGear'' to make me run naked through a shopping centre on a Saturday and I will have completed the set."
* On ''Series/HomeImprovement'' Tim's neighbor Wilson reveals his biggest fear is that all of reality is actually a dream, and [[DreamApocalypse when the dreamer wakes up, he'll cease to exist]].
* Alfredo Aldarisio from ''Series/PushingDaisies'' was terrified of the possibility that the Earth's atmosphere would one day be sucked away into space, leaving them all to suffocate.
** Olive mentions the same fear, leading him to believe that he had found someone he could relate to. Sadly, she was being metaphorical.
* A ''Series/{{Mash}}'' episode has Hawkeye and Margaret simultaneously confronted by (and trying to help each other get through) their greatest respective fears, {{claustrophobia}} and [[FearOfThunder loud noises]].
* In the original ''Series/MissionImpossible'', Cinnamon was claustrophobic. There's a delicious arc in which the bad guys trick her into trying to escape through a narrow pipe, then lock her in the middle.
* Series/{{Monk}} is afraid of many things; amongst the weirdest of these is milk.
** His ex-assistant Sharona has a phobia of elephants.
* Ben Wyatt of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' appears to have policophobia:
-->'''Ben''': I'm not afraid of cops. I have no reason to be, I never break any laws ever... because I'm ''deathly afraid of cops''.
* Brick in ''Series/TheMiddle'' is afraid of bridges.
* Alan Statham from ''GreenWing'' is scared of goblins. When Joanna decides to scare him (because his cheerfulness was annoying her) she asks her dwarf cousin to hide under his desk, with green make-up over his face and jump out at him shouting "boo!". Statham then beats him to death with a heron.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Porcelain (porcophobia?) -- [[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland Guybrush Threepwood]]. Speculated to have been caused by being hit over the head with a porcelain vase in the [[VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland first game]].
** The developers have said they added this just as a gag. After all, who is scared of porcelain?
*** ''Guybrush Threepwood''.
**** Referenced in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland Episode 1: Launch Of The Screaming Narwhal'', when you have to pick up a porcelain action figure. Guybrush grits his teeth and reassures himself "Calm down, Guybrush, it's only a little porcelain..."
* AGAIN [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Emma Emmerich]] shows up on this list: she doesn't like sea lice at all.
** And we also have Big Boss himself, scared of [[TheUndead vampires and zombies]]. This is a subversion in terms of the 'recurring obstacle' trope - vampires ''are'' in the series ([[NotUsingTheZWord in a]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent form, anyway]]), but Big Boss never encounters one.
* Bald people: [[CuteBruiser May]] of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' has an extreme fear of bald men, and can even sense when someone is bald, as shown during the Story Mode in XX when she runs into Dr. Faust (who, under the paper bag, is bald).
* [[VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Battler Ushiromiya]] is terrified of any vehicle that shakes when it moves, as was his late mother Asumu.
* Flora, Layton's ward in the ''Franchise/ProfessorLayton'' games, is afraid of being left alone (monophobia).
* Artix, normally fearless paladin extraordinaire in ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'', is utterly terrified of the color pink (which Beleen mercilessly teases him about).
* [[ShrinkingViolet Florina]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 7]]'' isn't only afraid of insects, but is terrified by bows ({{justified|Trope}}, because as a flying unit, she is vulnerable to them) and suffers from a mild case of [[DoesNotLikeMen androphobia]].
* All dwarves in ''Franchise/DragonAge'' (apart from those born on the surface, obviously) tend to have some fear of the sky (possibly Agrophobia?) due to the vast majority of them living in underground cities. They fear that going to the surface will not only make them lose their 'stone sense', but that they will fall ''up'' into the sky. Of the three dwarves you can recruit, one is a surfacer anyway, and the other two overcome their discomfort fairly quickly. Anders the mage appears to have claustrophobia, given his comments whenever you venture to the Deep Roads in the Awakening expansion (and in ''Dragon Age 2''). There are also plenty of people who are terrified of mages/magic/demons, and of those, plenty are justified.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'', Garry is utterly freaked out by all the blue dolls. Can't blame him considering one of them stalked him down a hallway and there was another time where [[spoiler: a whole bunch of them captured him and forced him to play a game with them]], but he found them disturbing even before any of them did anything.

[[AC:Web Comics]]
* Bob of ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' is spectacularly phobic of Pokémon. For no adequately explained reason. We'll state this again: a character with fire superpowers who intermittently seeks to conquer anything he doesn't destroy '''is terrified of Rattata'''.
* Hats: Trel from ''Webcomic/CwensQuest'' has either violent fits of terror or near psychotic reactions to hats due to childhood trauma.
* Xenophobia: ''Webcomic/{{Insecticomics}}'' Dreadmoon. Due to the humorous nature of the comic it's more a strong disgust than outright fear; in Wayward's more serious fanfiction he's uncomfortable around non-Cybertronians and outright terrified of organics.
* Katia of ''Webcomic/{{Prequel}}'' is deathly scared of nobility, including having a nightmare of Uriel Septim as a HumanoidAbomination (while in-universe he's the BigGood) and being rendered speechless at the sight of Martin Septim (at that time merely a priest in Kvatch).
* In ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'', [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=490 the squirrel girls (except Scarlet) are agoraphobes.]] [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=491 To prevent their escapes.]]
* Riff from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is afraid of orphans, and won't go near an orphanage without a missile launcher handy.
-->'''Riff:''' [[http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060917 Haven't you seen "Annie"? They could break out in song and swarm any minute.]]
-->Riff also will end up in Torg's arms if somebody mentions the DMV.
* [=PeeJee=] in ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' has been shown to have an almost pathological fear of puppets.
* In ''SquidRow'', Randie is deathly afraid of garden gnomes.
* Connie of ''Webcomic/{{Waterworks}}'' is germophobic, and tends to freak out around toilets.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "This Won't Hurt an Ed" reveals that Kevin has belonephobia (fear of needles). Eddy uses that to his advantage.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', a villain named Dr Light developed a severe phobia. A fear of Raven.
** Gnarrk, a Neanderthal, was exposed to the modern world. This left him with a severe technophobia (fear of technology) which remained with him until his meeting with the Teen Titans.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' episode "Phobia Factor" delved into the phobias of every cast member. Even tough guy Duncan revealed his secret fear: cardboard cutouts of Celine Dion.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheReplacements'', Agent K suffers from crippling stage fright.
* Chuckie of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' is anxious about many things; his fears include clowns, bunnies, green jello, shoes, and the guy on the oatmeal box.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] is shown to have a crippling fear of sock puppets in the episode "Fear of Flying".
** Also, [[MemeticMutation cobras!!]]
* The titular character on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' is afraid of pickles.
* Mandy from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' is afraid of professional figure skaters (although she insists she just "doesn't trust the way they spin"). Billy confronts her on this fact when she says his fear of clowns (see above) is stupid. (And frankly, he kinda has a point...)
** Horror's Hand in ''Big Boogey Adventure'' conjures up something worse for her: a future Mandy that is obese, mirthful, and married to Irwin. ''[[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl Mandy is scared shitless.]]''
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', Toki is afraid of bicentennial quarters.
* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' has Clay's mother fearing for the word "dead", including the words with the -ded suffix.
* Lydia's father in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon is afraid of...well, everything.
* In ''Disney/TheRescuers'', the extremely superstitious Bernard is afraid of [[ThirteenIsUnlucky the number 13]]. He's also afraid of flying.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', all the robots, but particularly [[TheBigGuy Bulkhead]], are afraid of scraplets, whipping out their weapons at the sight of ''one''. But considering they're essentially the robot equivalent of ''flying piranha'', it's not an ''irrational'' fear.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' brings us a child who is an obvious parody of ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' (complete with whip and boulder chase sequence), who harbors a hatred of [[{{Pun}} milkshakes.]]
* Tantor from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' has pantophobia ("fear of everything").
* In the same episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' that showed Hank's fear of bats, Bill was claimed to have a fear of balloons.
** Dale Gribble is afraid of ventriloquist dummies, due to his father scaring him with one as a child.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Bender reveals that he's afraid of can openers, [[NoodleIncident claiming that one killed his father]]. This fear proves to be justified when a can opener almost leaves him permanently paralyzed.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Popples}}'', Billy says he is afraid of the dentist.
* In addition to clowns, [[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Timmy Turner]] is creeped out by barefeet. Which he may have developed from rubbing his grandma's feet.
-->''It burns!''
* Vendetta from ''WesternAnimation/MakingFiends'' has a hatred of music (melophobia). There's a big zig-zag in how extreme it is; she hates Charlotte's singing, but sometimes [[VillainSong she will sing herself]] (and very badly). In the last three episodes of the web series, she seems to be ''traumatized'' by music playing from a card, firing her assistant Grudge [[ItMakesSenseInContext because it keeps playing when he burps]]. When her new assistant Rubella gives her a musical bear, Vendetta falls to the ground writhing in pain. In the TV series, she seems to hate music mostly because [[CardCarryingVillain it's happy and she hates happy things.]]
* [[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} Sterling Archer]] has three great fears. Two of them are alligators and crocodiles. The third? Brain aneurysms, because they strike anywhere, without warning.
* Wade Duck on [[WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends U,S, Acres]] is afraid of 614 things.

[[AC:Real Life]]
* The famed director Creator/AlfredHitchcock was reported to be deathly afraid of eggs. Yeah, the guy who made ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', ''Film/TheBirds'', and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' was afraid of eggs.
** Hitchcock also had a lifelong fear of policemen (dating from a childhood ScareEmStraight incident), which is why so many of his protagonists end up [[ClearMyName wrongly accused]].
** Interestingly, Joey from ''Series/FullHouse'' mentions eggs as one of the things people tend to fear.
-->'''Jesse:''' Eggs?
** In a magazine from years ago, Music/HilaryDuff stating her fear (or strong disgust) of eggs.
* Creator/StephenKing is afraid of the number 13, a condition known as triskaidekaphobia.
** Composer Arnold Schönberg similarly was afraid of the number. His greatest fear was reportedly dying on an age whose digits added up or multiplied to 13. [[{{Irony}} Which he did]], at age 76 (7+6=13) on Friday the 13th - perhaps ''because'' he feared it that much.
** French composer Jules Massenet shared their fear as well. Made weirder and arguably funnier by how the letters in his name are... thirteen.
* Creator/PamelaAnderson probably has the above beaten. She is reportedly a sufferer of eisoptrophobia -- in other words, she is freaked out by ''her own reflection''.
** [[UncannyValley She]] ''[[UncannyValley is]]'' [[UncannyValley a former model; can you blame her?]]
* The British Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton is terrified of sponges. As in, the porous things you wash with.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'s'' Timbersaw has severe dendrophobia (fear of trees) after [[WhenTreesAttack his hometown was wiped out by them]]. He's now on a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge one-man crusade]] [[NoMereWindmill against trees]].
-->'''Timbersaw:''' [[http://www.dota2wiki.com/images/1/10/Timb_rare_01.mp3 Someone once told me I needed to face fear to get over it, and I thought well why not take a step further and cut my fear into little pieces then set my fear on fire then throw the hot ash of my fear into a lake and then poison the lake. Simple!]]

* Myka Bering of ''Series/Warehouse 13'' declares her own cnidariophobia when having to deal with Lovecraftesque phantasms.

* Luigi from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is deathly afraid of ghosts (and possibly Waddle Dees as shown in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Brawl''). Ironically, he has to fight ''hordes'' of them when he [[ADayInTheLimelight gets his own game:]] ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion''.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Hyouka Kazakiri is terrified of Touma Kamijo, despite him being one of the nicest guys on that planet and her having a crush on him. [[spoiler: It is because she is an artificial angel, and she subconsciously sensed Touma's right hand, the [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]], which would erase a supernatural being from existence on contact. When Touma learns this, he assures her that her fear is a good thing, because the fear of death proves that a being is alive]]. She somewhat gets over her fear when Touma saves her several times and assures her that he would never willingly harm her.

* Wade Duck on [[WesternAnimatiom/GarfieldAndFriends U,S, Acres]] is afraid of 614 things.

* Linus van Pelt of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' is afraid of snakes. Or, more particularly, of ''queen'' snakes.

* Sandor Clegane, a.k.a. the Hound, in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Quite a reasonable fear, as half of his face has been burned as a child by [[CainAndAbel his evil older brother]]. He lives in a world with Greek Fire and priests of a fire-god who can, well, magically create fire, and naturally runs into both.

A subset of FatalFlaw. FearOfThunder (also known as brontophobia), SpidersAreScary (aracnophobia), {{Claustrophobia}}, AfraidOfDoctors (iatrophobia), and AfraidOfNeedles (trypanophobia) are specific sub-tropes of this.

* In ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', similar to the Franchise/ScoobyDoo "Velma too afraid of clowns to solve the case" example above, Penny and Brain are at first too afraid of ghosts to investigate MAD's base (and keep Gadget out of trouble) in "The Haunted Castle. Gadget, who doesn't share this fear, is actually pretty competent (proving he's not ''always'' TooDumbToLive) throughout the whole episode -- though, thanks to Gadget actually showing good parenting for once (part of that whole aforementioned "competence" bit), Penny quickly gets over her fear, and does her usual investigations herself. Still, the episode somewhat breaks type

* In ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', similar to the Franchise/ScoobyDoo "Velma too afraid of clowns to solve the case" example above, Penny and Brain are at first too afraid of ghosts to investigate MAD's base (and keep Gadget out of trouble) in "The Haunted Castle. Gadget, who doesn't share this fear, is actually pretty competent (proving he's not ''always'' TooDumbToLive) throughout the whole episode -- though, thanks to Gadget actually showing good parenting for once (part of that whole aforementioned "competence" bit), Penny quickly gets over her fear, and does her usual investigations herself. Still, the episode somewhat breaks type by having both Penny and Gadget solving the case.
* Yoshi is afraid of ghosts in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' cartoon, a LampshadeHanging of his refusing to enter ghost houses in the actual game.
* Scootaloo in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' confesses to Rainbow Dash that she is afraid of ghost ''stories'' but did not want to admit it sooner for fear that she'd make her upset.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* During interviews where ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' is the topic, Creator/RickMoranis, known for his role as Louis Tully in the movies, claims to be afraid of ghosts.
-->"Yeah, ghosts. Scare the pants off me. The polyester pants off me."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Darkness (nyctophobia)]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Mankind has always feared the darkness, so he scrapes away at its edges with fire.]]
* Mametchi from ''VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}}'' is afraid of the dark due to an accident when he was young, as revealed in TheMovie.
* [[DarkMagicalGirl Yugi]] from ''Anime/TenchiInTokyo'' has been terrified of the dark ever since her playtime with monsters caused enough [[NonMaliciousMonster massive property damage]] to get her entombed alive for over three thousand years.
* Shutaro Mendou of ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' is afraid of both the dark and tight spaces, though this was accidentally caused by locking his child form in a large pickling jar [[NiceJobBreakingItHero while trying to ''cure him of said phobias.'']] As long as a girl's in sight, though, he's not ''claustrophobic'' as long as she can see HIM. If she CAN'T see him, often by putting a bell over him (and combining his phobias) he'll either break the bell out of terror-induced strength, or scream "It's cramped! It's dark! I'm scared!" over and over again until he is freed from confinement (as it often is in the anime).

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Toni, the punk-loving sister of 1982 ''Film/{{Alone in the Dark|1982}}'s'' protagonist is revealed to be afraid of the dark. It is also hinted to be so strong that it forced her to go to a mental institution in the past.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Sandry from Tamora Pierce's ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series is afraid of the dark and always sleeps with a nightlight after being locked in a storeroom. She has a panic attack in the first book when she and her friends are trapped underground during an earthquake.

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]
* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' Well, are you? Frank is.
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': Spencer Reid claims to be afraid of the dark "because of the inherent absence of light."
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': But it's not the dark, it's Vashta Nerada. These are microscopic creatures that tend to disguise themselves as shadows. Once you get too near them, you'll be killed instantly. The Doctor tells that these creatures are the reason so many races fear the dark.
* Winston on ''Series/NewGirl''.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/AlanWake'': Alice has a crippling fear of the dark. And don't tell me you didn't flip on a few lights yourself after/while playing through the game.
* Daniel from ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' has a bad fear of the dark after an incident from his childhood. Staying in the dark too long makes his sanity lower and causes hallucinations, blurred vision, and teeth grinding. Too bad they didn't have very good lighting in 1839.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* One of Chuckie's top 3 fears on ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''.
-->'''Chuckie:''' This isn't just regular-plain-old scary, Tommy. This is THE DARK!
* Toph from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was born stone blind so she only has theoretical knowledge of what darkness and[=/=]or it's absence even is. However her [[DisabilitySuperpower tremorsense]] is rendered useless when she is not in contact with earth, stone, or metal (as well as if the soles of her feet are covered or damaged) and she does not like such situations ''at all''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Various (tend towards the weird)]]

[[AC:General]]
* In some implementations, the InnocentFanserviceGirl might have vestiphobia (fear of clothing) as an attempt to [[JustifiedTrope justify things]]. [[MostWritersAreMale Don't believe it.]]
* [[AfraidOfNeedles Needles (aichmophobia)]].
* [[ShellShockedVeteran Sufferers of PTSD]] will often have generalized anxiety, including ligyrophobia, the fear of loud noises.

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* In a ''Anime/YuGiOhGX 3''-parter, it is revealed that vampires scare the crap out of Daitokuji-sensei. Guess who was the VillainOfTheWeek in all 3 episodes? [[spoiler: He may have been lying, however. He was secretly a member of the Seven Stars, a group that Camula also belonged to. They were only seen as a group in one brief scene (in shadow), and it is not known if the individual members actually helped each other at all.]]
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Death The Kid's SuperOCD seems to mainly manifest as a fear of asymmetry (sometimes it gives him panics attacks and HeroicBSOD, sometimes it acts as a BerserkButton).
* Celty from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' is afraid of ''space aliens'' for some reason. [[RuleOfCute (Probably because it's adorable).]] She also develops a fear of police – traffic cops in particular – later in the series.
* The ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' anime gives Sanosuke a crippling fear of trains (which pops up in every {{Filler}} episode and NonSerialMovie that involves riding a train), as well express a suspicion of cameras, fearing that it'll steal his soul.
** TruthInTelevision on both fears, as a lot of Japanese were still a bit creeped out of said Western inventions at the time, even with Japanese-trained photographers in regards to cameras.
* Miyuki Takara of ''Manga/LuckyStar'' really hates dentists.
* Goku from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is terrified of needles, this came after he got a shot after his first fight with Vegeta. Sorta justified: he had never gotten a shot in his life until then.
* In ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', Austria loathes any sea creatures.
** Also, Seychelles hate the cold to the point of collapsing in Cuba's arms after walking in the snow for a while, despite wearing a huge coat. JustifiedTrope due to the very warm Seychellois climate.
* Ryoshi Morino in ''LightNovel/OokamiSan'' has extreme scopophobia (fear of being seen or stared at); he shrinks down into a cringing ball and covers his face whenever people look at him.
* {{Jesus}} in ''Manga/SaintYoungMen'' has a phobia of salespeople, which he confesses to Buddha was the real reason for his famous freakout in the temple. Apparently he was trying to hide under the chair, 'used too much force', and when people rounded on him for an explanation as to why he threw the chair he was so berserk he screamed at them all about how this was supposed to be a place of worship.
* Baikinman from ''{{Franchise/Anpanman}}'', being an alien bacterium, is terrified of soap. Contact with it reduces him to the size of a fly. Likewise, Mushibaikinman, a cavity from the same species as Baikinman is afraid of toothpaste, as it has the same effect on him. Interestingly, they're the only members of their species to have this weakness.
* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Hyouka Kazakiri is terrified of Touma Kamijo, despite him being one of the nicest guys on that planet and her having a crush on him. [[spoiler: It is because she is an artificial angel, and she subconsciously sensed Touma's right hand, the [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]], which would erase a supernatural being from existence on contact. When Touma learns this, he assures her that her fear is a good thing, because the fear of death proves that a being is alive]]. She somewhat gets over her fear when Touma saves her several times and assures her that he would never willingly harm her.
* As mentioned above, Sakaki from ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' is scared of horseflies, but also of thunder, earthquakes, and even the mechanical guards at construction sites.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* The Earth-2 Franchise/{{Batman}} suffered an attack from the Scarecrow which caused him to hallucinate his greatest fear. It was fear of being alone, and he hallucinated his friends vanishing before his eyes.
* In his Brazilian Comic book stories, Jose Carioca is so lazy that he's often depicted as having an outright phobia of work. That would maybe be "tripaliophobia".
* In ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', the villain Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash is scared off by ''a fabric store''. Apparently it brings up bad childhood memories.
* In Creator/GeoffJohns' ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', Superboy and Beast Boy have a phobia of doctors, due to both of them being experimented on as kids. Beast Boy in particular has a special hatred for needles.
* In a Batman / Comicbook/JudgeDredd crossover graphic novel, Judge Death was subjected to Scarecrow's fear-inducing gas, and hallucinated being mobbed by (shudder) ''[[TastesLikeDiabetes cuddly stuffed animals and cartoon ponies]]''.
* Lucy from ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', in her role as a nickel psychiatrist, once diagnosed Charlie Brown as having pantophobia, "the fear of everything". He fervently agreed. This gag was repeated in ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas''.
* ''{{Zatanna}}'' has a phobia regarding puppets. It turns out, there is a very good reason for this phobia.
* [[Characters/{{Superman}} Superboy-Prime]], despite being an over-the-top VillainSue, is deathly afraid of [[TheFlash Bart Allen]] ever since the latter trapped him in the Speed Force during ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis''.
* [[Characters/TheFlash Heatwave]] has cryophobia, fear of the cold.

[[AC:{{Fanfic}}]]
* In ''Webcomic/MotherlyScootaloo'', a MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Tumblr comic, while Scootaloo's guardian Sandy gets along fine with unicorns, she has a self-admitted phobia of their magic.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' Fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Progress}}'', [[PhysicalGod Princess Luna]] ends up mortified of ''baseballs'' after getting hit in the face by every last foul ball in a baseball game due to a spell gone hilariously wrong. Some time later, she watched Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}[[note]]An infamous DarkFic about Pinkie Pie brutally torturing, murdering and baking Rainbow Dash[[/note]] on tv, and becomes terrified of all things pink as well. Though she manages to get over that one in time to hang with Pinkie Pie later.
* Similar to the above, Delilah from ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfSpyroANewDawn'' is deathly afraid of cupcakes after the "Cupcakes Incident", which apparently involved a run in with the ''Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}'' version of Pinkie Pie (Delilah is a DimensionalTraveller). Though it doesn't come up in ''that'' fanfic, since cupcakes don't exist in the universe it takes place in, a letter she gets from Pinkie Pie (the real one, who she's best friends with) tells her to call ahead before she visits so her friends won't have them at a surprise party due to her phobia.
* Rarity's character arc in the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' involves getting over the phobia of gems she'd gotten from Discord's MindRape of her. Many other ponies throughout Equestria got similar phobias as a result of their own {{Mind Rape}}s, including Prince Blueblood being terrified of the sun, Big Macintosh is terrified of the family dog, Sweetie Belle is scared of her dolls, etc.
** [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulRename The One and Only]] [[SixthRanger Trixie]] is revealed to have a crippling fear of Ursas after the Ursa Minor incident in Ponyville. This, rather embarrassingly, rears its head when they encounter two cute, teddybear-sized ones who'd be "fixed" by Princess Gaia's RealityWarping. It scares her so badly that it takes Pinkie Pie singing her a rendition of "Giggle At The Ghosties" to calm her down. Understandably, the others don't laugh or mock her about it, as they know and understand why it scares her so badly.]]
* In ''Fanfic/{{Renegade}}'', Shepard has a specific fear of the alien Scrin, and for good reason: she's the sole survivor of the Scrin assault on Akuze, and got an up-close and personal encounter with Buzzers that left her horribly scarred. When the Scrin [[spoiler: attack the GDI Embassy on the Citadel]], her reaction to close-quarters combat is to go from her normally controlled and unflappable demeanor to shouting and screaming at them.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In Australian horror film ''Primal'', one of the protagonists is revealed to be claustrophobic early in the film, when her friends find a tunnel through a mountain to the other side, where they're headed to see some ancient cave paintings. She has to drive the long way around after she gets a panic attack from entering. Later, the tunnel becomes the only viable way to escape the monsters, as the car's wheels are destroyed and the monsters won't go near the tunnel.
* Sid Phillips, the main villain of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', actually gained a fear of toys at the end of the film as a result of a particular cowboy doll coming to life right in front of him.
* Buddy in the first ''Film/AirBud'' is subtly but strongly implied to be fearful of newspapers and loud thumps (often making it a point to retrieve the newspapers and bury them in the former and barking loudly during a court room when the Judge used his mallet regarding the latter). Considering the fact that he was exposed to them frequently by his former, extremely abusive owner, his fear is perfectly justified.
* Natasha Romanov of ''Film/TheAvengers'' is a huge badass who has no problem allowing herself to get captured, lying to a god, and flying around New York City on the back of a hostile alien. She gets stuck with the Hulk, which renders all her ninja fighting skills and mental trickery useless. Judging by her reaction, it's definitely a weak spot. It's justified, as the Hulk is [[NighInvulnerability nearly invincible, shrugging off bullets that were meant to destroy jets]], [[LetsYouAndHimFight and going toe to toe with]] Film/{{Thor}}.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Fear itself (phobiaphobia) -- Literature/HarryPotter seems to have it... well, sort of. (Well, to be specific, boggarts look like Dementors to him, and Dementors are living embodiments of fear.)
** Going by the shape boggarts take, Hermione is afraid of flunking her classes (or maybe failure in general). She was so terrified of this, she wasn't able to use the Riddikulus spell to fight it.
** Another example, Professor Lupin is afraid of the full moon. [[spoiler: Justified because he's a werewolf.]]
* The protagonist of Creator/IainBanks' ''Literature/UseOfWeapons'' has an odd phobia of chairs. It makes a lot of sense when you learn what the original chair was made of.
* Throughout the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, Rincewind has developed a violent fear of many things, some justified (the Things of the Dungeon Dimensions), some not (having good things happen to him, because it usually means something worse is coming along later), but the thing he seems to dread the most is plots, because if a plot starts happening anywhere near him, [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality eventually he will get sucked into it]]. Rincewind was afraid of playing football in Unseen Academicals, but then so was every other wizard except Ridcully.
** Meanwhile, Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen have swords that [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings glow blue in the presence of lawyers]], and fear them until they learn of the concept of defense attorneys.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's "The Tower of the Elephant", Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian is paralyzed with horror at the sight of the EldritchAbomination. (He's young in this story.)
** Conan is also afraid of wizards and magic in general, which a common theme in stories about the character. (At the very least, he doesn't trust them.)
* Literature/CiaphasCain ('''[[RunningGag HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!]]''') is scared of a lot of things-[[EverythingTryingToKillYou with good reason]]-but the very mention of Necrons sends him into pants-wetting panic. They are the one enemy he will not face in direct combat. Given that Necrons are [[OmnicidalManiac all-hating]] [[RoboticPsychopath mechanical]], and [[{{Determinator}} relentless]] AbusivePrecursors, this fear seems less like a phobia and more of a symptom of possessing common sense.
** The short story ''Echoes of the Tomb'' details his first encounter with the Necrons, they slaughtered everyone else on the tomb complex and took off two of his fingers as someone took a fatal shot for him, he only survived by jumping through a warp portal that happened to lead to a Necron ship boarded by Space Marines.
* Several characters in Creator/DeanKoontz's ''FalseMemory'' have phobias. Susan Jagger is agoraphobic and fears leaving her house. Martie Rhodes is autophobic, meaning she's afraid of ''herself'' (specifically she's afraid that she might commit a violent act). And the nameless wife of an Internet billionaire is terribly afraid of KeanuReeves; she can't look at pictures of him and can't watch television because she might see a commercial for one of his movies.
* The closest to [[KarmaHoudini karmic retribution]] [[{{Ripliad}} The Talented Mister Ripley]] receives is that he develops a fear of cops for the rest of his life. He can never look at another cop again without a brief flash of alarm as he thinks that the cop has discovered his crimes.
* Dan Brown's Robert Langdon is severely claustrophobic as a result of almost drowning in a well as a child. He regularly has to enter confined spaces in the novels, including being imprisoned in a coffin in ''AngelsAndDemons'' and actually faces drowning in tiny space in ''TheLostSymbol'' [[spoiler: it turns out to be a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing#Total_liquid_ventilation total liquid ventilation]] system, but he didn't know that]].
* ''Literature/AdventureHunters'': Lisa is terrified of gargoyles because of a bad encounter with them in her childhood.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Beards (pogonophobia) -- Frank, from ''Series/TheAdventuresOfLanoAndWoodley''. ''[[ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere Everyone]]'' he runs into throughout the episode in question has a beard. It's cured at the end, though.
* Noise -- Leonard Hatred in ''LookAroundYou'', invented "Psilence", a type of liquid skin that blocks the ears, as a response to being subjected to loud noises all his life. (Unfortunately the mental instability caused by his condition ultimately led him to attack Sir Prince Charles at an award ceremony.)
* Tommy from ''BigWolfOnCampus'' is afraid of ending up alone due to people finding out about his lycanthropy. And Merton is scared of monster movies (which is kind of weird, because he's a Goth).
* Balloons (globophobia) -- Lacey [[spoiler:and Davis]] in an episode of ''Series/CornerGas''. Also, by the end of that episode we find out that [[spoiler:Brent]] seems to have a fear of ''globes''.
** Wanda's implied [[spoiler:agoraphobia (fear of open space)]]. It's especially ironic as she lives in Saskatchewan, which has nothing but open space.
* As revealed on ''Series/AttackOfTheShow'', co-host OliviaMunn is also afraid of balloons. Needless to say, fellow co-host Kevin Pereira takes so much delight in tormenting her whenever the subject comes up.
* Embarrassment: Richard Hammond. "I have several recurring nightmares. One in which I am presenting a radio show and can't work the desk, another in which I find myself on stage with a truly catastrophic band. I am only waiting now for ''Series/TopGear'' to make me run naked through a shopping centre on a Saturday and I will have completed the set."
* On ''Series/HomeImprovement'' Tim's neighbor Wilson reveals his biggest fear is that all of reality is actually a dream, and [[DreamApocalypse when the dreamer wakes up, he'll cease to exist]].
* Alfredo Aldarisio from ''Series/PushingDaisies'' was terrified of the possibility that the Earth's atmosphere would one day be sucked away into space, leaving them all to suffocate.
** Olive mentions the same fear, leading him to believe that he had found someone he could relate to. Sadly, she was being metaphorical.
* A ''Series/{{Mash}}'' episode has Hawkeye and Margaret simultaneously confronted by (and trying to help each other get through) their greatest respective fears, {{claustrophobia}} and [[FearOfThunder loud noises]].
* In the original ''Series/MissionImpossible'', Cinnamon was claustrophobic. There's a delicious arc in which the bad guys trick her into trying to escape through a narrow pipe, then lock her in the middle.
* Series/{{Monk}} is afraid of many things; amongst the weirdest of these is milk.
** His ex-assistant Sharona has a phobia of elephants.
* Ben Wyatt of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' appears to have policophobia:
-->'''Ben''': I'm not afraid of cops. I have no reason to be, I never break any laws ever... because I'm ''deathly afraid of cops''.
* Brick in ''Series/TheMiddle'' is afraid of bridges.
* Alan Statham from ''GreenWing'' is scared of goblins. When Joanna decides to scare him (because his cheerfulness was annoying her) she asks her dwarf cousin to hide under his desk, with green make-up over his face and jump out at him shouting "boo!". Statham then beats him to death with a heron.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Porcelain (porcophobia?) -- [[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland Guybrush Threepwood]]. Speculated to have been caused by being hit over the head with a porcelain vase in the [[VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland first game]].
** The developers have said they added this just as a gag. After all, who is scared of porcelain?
*** ''Guybrush Threepwood''.
**** Referenced in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland Episode 1: Launch Of The Screaming Narwhal'', when you have to pick up a porcelain action figure. Guybrush grits his teeth and reassures himself "Calm down, Guybrush, it's only a little porcelain..."
* AGAIN [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Emma Emmerich]] shows up on this list: she doesn't like sea lice at all.
** And we also have Big Boss himself, scared of [[TheUndead vampires and zombies]]. This is a subversion in terms of the 'recurring obstacle' trope - vampires ''are'' in the series ([[NotUsingTheZWord in a]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent form, anyway]]), but Big Boss never encounters one.
* Bald people: [[CuteBruiser May]] of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' has an extreme fear of bald men, and can even sense when someone is bald, as shown during the Story Mode in XX when she runs into Dr. Faust (who, under the paper bag, is bald).
* [[VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Battler Ushiromiya]] is terrified of any vehicle that shakes when it moves, as was his late mother Asumu.
* Flora, Layton's ward in the ''Franchise/ProfessorLayton'' games, is afraid of being left alone (monophobia).
* Artix, normally fearless paladin extraordinaire in ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'', is utterly terrified of the color pink (which Beleen mercilessly teases him about).
* [[ShrinkingViolet Florina]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 7]]'' isn't only afraid of insects, but is terrified by bows ({{justified|Trope}}, because as a flying unit, she is vulnerable to them) and suffers from a mild case of [[DoesNotLikeMen androphobia]].
* All dwarves in ''Franchise/DragonAge'' (apart from those born on the surface, obviously) tend to have some fear of the sky (possibly Agrophobia?) due to the vast majority of them living in underground cities. They fear that going to the surface will not only make them lose their 'stone sense', but that they will fall ''up'' into the sky. Of the three dwarves you can recruit, one is a surfacer anyway, and the other two overcome their discomfort fairly quickly. Anders the mage appears to have claustrophobia, given his comments whenever you venture to the Deep Roads in the Awakening expansion (and in ''Dragon Age 2''). There are also plenty of people who are terrified of mages/magic/demons, and of those, plenty are justified.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'', Garry is utterly freaked out by all the blue dolls. Can't blame him considering one of them stalked him down a hallway and there was another time where [[spoiler: a whole bunch of them captured him and forced him to play a game with them]], but he found them disturbing even before any of them did anything.

[[AC:Web Comics]]
* Bob of ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' is spectacularly phobic of Pokémon. For no adequately explained reason. We'll state this again: a character with fire superpowers who intermittently seeks to conquer anything he doesn't destroy '''is terrified of Rattata'''.
* Hats: Trel from ''Webcomic/CwensQuest'' has either violent fits of terror or near psychotic reactions to hats due to childhood trauma.
* Xenophobia: ''Webcomic/{{Insecticomics}}'' Dreadmoon. Due to the humorous nature of the comic it's more a strong disgust than outright fear; in Wayward's more serious fanfiction he's uncomfortable around non-Cybertronians and outright terrified of organics.
* Katia of ''Webcomic/{{Prequel}}'' is deathly scared of nobility, including having a nightmare of Uriel Septim as a HumanoidAbomination (while in-universe he's the BigGood) and being rendered speechless at the sight of Martin Septim (at that time merely a priest in Kvatch).
* In ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'', [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=490 the squirrel girls (except Scarlet) are agoraphobes.]] [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=491 To prevent their escapes.]]
* Riff from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is afraid of orphans, and won't go near an orphanage without a missile launcher handy.
-->'''Riff:''' [[http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060917 Haven't you seen "Annie"? They could break out in song and swarm any minute.]]
-->Riff also will end up in Torg's arms if somebody mentions the DMV.
* [=PeeJee=] in ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' has been shown to have an almost pathological fear of puppets.
* In ''SquidRow'', Randie is deathly afraid of garden gnomes.
* Connie of ''Webcomic/{{Waterworks}}'' is germophobic, and tends to freak out around toilets.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "This Won't Hurt an Ed" reveals that Kevin has belonephobia (fear of needles). Eddy uses that to his advantage.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', a villain named Dr Light developed a severe phobia. A fear of Raven.
** Gnarrk, a Neanderthal, was exposed to the modern world. This left him with a severe technophobia (fear of technology) which remained with him until his meeting with the Teen Titans.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' episode "Phobia Factor" delved into the phobias of every cast member. Even tough guy Duncan revealed his secret fear: cardboard cutouts of Celine Dion.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheReplacements'', Agent K suffers from crippling stage fright.
* Chuckie of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' is anxious about many things; his fears include clowns, bunnies, green jello, shoes, and the guy on the oatmeal box.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] is shown to have a crippling fear of sock puppets in the episode "Fear of Flying".
** Also, [[MemeticMutation cobras!!]]
* The titular character on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' is afraid of pickles.
* Mandy from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' is afraid of professional figure skaters (although she insists she just "doesn't trust the way they spin"). Billy confronts her on this fact when she says his fear of clowns (see above) is stupid. (And frankly, he kinda has a point...)
** Horror's Hand in ''Big Boogey Adventure'' conjures up something worse for her: a future Mandy that is obese, mirthful, and married to Irwin. ''[[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl Mandy is scared shitless.]]''
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', Toki is afraid of bicentennial quarters.
* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' has Clay's mother fearing for the word "dead", including the words with the -ded suffix.
* Lydia's father in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon is afraid of...well, everything.
* In ''Disney/TheRescuers'', the extremely superstitious Bernard is afraid of [[ThirteenIsUnlucky the number 13]]. He's also afraid of flying.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', all the robots, but particularly [[TheBigGuy Bulkhead]], are afraid of scraplets, whipping out their weapons at the sight of ''one''. But considering they're essentially the robot equivalent of ''flying piranha'', it's not an ''irrational'' fear.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' brings us a child who is an obvious parody of ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' (complete with whip and boulder chase sequence), who harbors a hatred of [[{{Pun}} milkshakes.]]
* Tantor from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' has pantophobia ("fear of everything").
* In the same episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' that showed Hank's fear of bats, Bill was claimed to have a fear of balloons.
** Dale Gribble is afraid of ventriloquist dummies, due to his father scaring him with one as a child.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Bender reveals that he's afraid of can openers, [[NoodleIncident claiming that one killed his father]]. This fear proves to be justified when a can opener almost leaves him permanently paralyzed.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Popples}}'', Billy says he is afraid of the dentist.
* In addition to clowns, [[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Timmy Turner]] is creeped out by barefeet. Which he may have developed from rubbing his grandma's feet.
-->''It burns!''
* Vendetta from ''WesternAnimation/MakingFiends'' has a hatred of music (melophobia). There's a big zig-zag in how extreme it is; she hates Charlotte's singing, but sometimes [[VillainSong she will sing herself]] (and very badly). In the last three episodes of the web series, she seems to be ''traumatized'' by music playing from a card, firing her assistant Grudge [[ItMakesSenseInContext because it keeps playing when he burps]]. When her new assistant Rubella gives her a musical bear, Vendetta falls to the ground writhing in pain. In the TV series, she seems to hate music mostly because [[CardCarryingVillain it's happy and she hates happy things.]]
* [[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} Sterling Archer]] has three great fears. Two of them are alligators and crocodiles. The third? Brain aneurysms, because they strike anywhere, without warning.
* Wade Duck on [[WesternAnimatiom/GarfieldAndFriends U,S, Acres]] is afraid of 614 things.

[[AC:Real Life]]
* The famed director Creator/AlfredHitchcock was reported to be deathly afraid of eggs. Yeah, the guy who made ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', ''Film/TheBirds'', and ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' was afraid of eggs.
** Hitchcock also had a lifelong fear of policemen (dating from a childhood ScareEmStraight incident), which is why so many of his protagonists end up [[ClearMyName wrongly accused]].
** Interestingly, Joey from ''Series/FullHouse'' mentions eggs as one of the things people tend to fear.
-->'''Jesse:''' Eggs?
** In a magazine from years ago, Music/HilaryDuff stating her fear (or strong disgust) of eggs.
* Creator/StephenKing is afraid of the number 13, a condition known as triskaidekaphobia.
** Composer Arnold Schönberg similarly was afraid of the number. His greatest fear was reportedly dying on an age whose digits added up or multiplied to 13. [[{{Irony}} Which he did]], at age 76 (7+6=13) on Friday the 13th - perhaps ''because'' he feared it that much.
** French composer Jules Massenet shared their fear as well. Made weirder and arguably funnier by how the letters in his name are... thirteen.
* Creator/PamelaAnderson probably has the above beaten. She is reportedly a sufferer of eisoptrophobia -- in other words, she is freaked out by ''her own reflection''.
** [[UncannyValley She]] ''[[UncannyValley is]]'' [[UncannyValley a former model; can you blame her?]]
* The British Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton is terrified of sponges. As in, the porous things you wash with.
[[/folder]]

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* The Barbarian character in ''Webcomic/{{Weregeek}}'' [[http://www.weregeek.com/2010/02/15/ added it to his background]]. WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes? Because a DM ALWAYS uses the character's background against them.

* In the ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' comics, Doctor Octopus once received such a beatdown as to develop this phobia. He had to be talked out of it in order to help Spidey with the current crisis.
* ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} was terrified of spiders early in the comic strips run. In more recent strips, he hates them more than he's scared of them, swatting them without even thinking.

* In the ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' episode "The Tale Of Watcher's Woods", a girl is captured by three witches and put in a wooden cage. One witch asks her if she'd like to "play with some rodents" and proceeds to put a bucket of rats into the cage with the girl, who happens to be terrified of rats. The girl then freaks out and says: "Why did it have to be rats?!"

* ''ModernFamily'': Mice for [[TheComicallySerious Mitchell.]]

* DavidAttenborough has admitted that rats are the one creature he cannot stand to be around (although he still does have a kind of grudging admiration for their ability to survive nearly anywhere).

* Taiga Kagami from {{Kuroko no Basuke}}

* Kiki on ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''.

* A ''{{Deadpool}}'' comic involving him trying to join the Comicbook/{{X-Men}} included him continuously pestering Domino to find out what's her greatest fear; turns out it's chickens. While this seems to be a BigLippedAlligatorMoment for most of the arc, at the end where Domino and {{Wolverine}} are tracking Deadpool down they have to go through an air vent occupied by a chicken. Domino will probably NeverLiveItDown that a chicken took her out of action in a fight.

* Sam(antha) on ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''

* Gary on ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''

* Blaze the Cat from the ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' series is often implied to have a fear of heights, especially when they reach a zone like [[CastleInTheSky Sky Babylon]].

* Marc Clark of ''TheAmazingSpiez'' though whether it was a CompressedVice is debatable since he had no problems with flying (in fact, he tends to fly the team's jet) and the problem was gone by the end of the episode.
* Buster of ''TinyToonAdventures'':

* [[FourStarBadass General of the Air Force]] Henry "Hap" Arnold was one of the first military aviators, and would eventually rise through the ranks to become the first (and only - the 5-star ranks were discontinued after WorldWarII) General of the Air Force. He was also afraid of flying, due to being one of the first military aviators to be in a plane crash.

* Golem in ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' hates water. Justified because he's made of rock and would [[IncrediblyLamePun sink like a stone]].

* In the second episode of ''SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'', Chiro and Sparx are both revealed to have this fear. Both overcome it by the end of the episode but there's a hint of FridgeLogic that crops up when Sparx mentions the team all knew Chiro was afraid of water despite an earlier scene featuring Otto going on a spiel about being trapped underwater [[NightmareFuel that obviously made Chiro ''very'' uncomfortable.]]

* Marc Clark of ''TheAmazingSpiez''. Unlike his fear of heights mentioned above, it's never clarified if he ever gets of it.

* ''SpaceAboveAndBeyond'': In an episode where the enemy is using a fear-enhancing weapon, Damphousse is revealed to have a fear of blood. Perhaps a bit ironic for a [[SemperFi Marine]].

* ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' Well, are you? Frank is.

* Winston on ''NewGirl''.

** Meanwhile, Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen have swords that [[LordOfTheRings glow blue in the presence of lawyers]], and fear them until they learn of the concept of defense attorneys.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' brings us a child who is an obvious parody of ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' (complete with whip and boulder chase sequence), who harbors a hatred of [[IncrediblyLamePun milkshakes.]]

* Wade Duck on USAcres is afraid of 614 things.

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* According to cast interviews, Jacqueline [=McKenzie=] from ''{{The 4400}}'' is afraid of spiders. Joel Gretsch responded with a series of [[JerkAss increasingly]] [[DudeNotFunny unfunny pranks]].

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]